Syrian President Bashar al-Assad received on Saturday a letter from his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on regional situations, particularly in Iraq and the Palestinian territories.

Assad received the letter in a meeting with visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki, according to the official SANA news agency.

The two sides reviewed the existing relations between the two friendly countries in all fields and stressed the necessity to continue bilateral consultations on issues of common interests, SANA said.

Mottaki told reporters upon arrival in Damascus that his visit here was part of the normal framework of the developed relations between the two countries for consultations on latest developments in the region.

Syria and Iran maintained close ties since the 1980s when Damascus sided with Tehran in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.

Source: Xinhua