Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem and his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki held talks here on Saturday afternoon on regional affairs, especially the Palestine and Lebanon issues.
The two held the meeting at Damascus airport where the Iranian foreign minister arrived in for a short stopover after he concluded his visits to several African countries, the official SANA news agency reported.
During the meeting, Muallem and Mottaki reviewed the current situation in the region, especially the latest developments in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, SANA said, adding that Mottaki left Damascus shortly afterwards.
However, some media reports said that foreign ministers from Syria, Iran, Oman and Qatar held a meeting on Saturday to discuss a host of issues topped by the Damascus-hosted Arab summit on March 29-30.
Egypt's official MENA news agency quoted Arab diplomatic sources as confirming that Omani Minister in Charge of Foreign Affairs Youssef bin Allawi and Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassam Al-Tani also attended the four-way meeting.
The meeting also took up the current situation in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, according to the sources.
The meeting came three days before a scheduled session of the Lebanese parliament to elect a new president, which has been delayed for 15 times due to conflicting differences between the ruling parliament majority and the opposition.
It also followed a meeting between Mottaki and his Saudi counterpart Prince Saud Al-Faisal at Cairo airport on Wednesday, which was believed to focus on efforts to resolve the political crisis in Lebanon.
Lebanese presidential seat has been vacant since former President Emile Lahoud stepped down on Nov. 24, 2007. Syria is accused of obstructing the Lebanese presidential elections through its allies in the neighboring country's opposition bloc.
Some Arab countries threatened to boycott the upcoming Arab summit in Damascus in late March if Syria does not facilitate the election of Army commander Gen. Michel Suleiman as the president of Lebanon.
Source: Xinhua
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