Lahoud; Turkmani meet on developments

Upon the directives of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad "General Leader of the Army and Armed Forces," and Lebanese President Emile Lahoud's, the Army Chief of Staff Major General Hassan Turkmani paid on Monday a visit to Lebanon heading a senior army officials delegation.

During the visit which comes in the framework of coordination and cooperation agreement, Turkmani conferred with Lahoud on the "fraternity and cooperation relations between the two armies in Syria and Lebanon and means of enhancing them in a way to be capable of confronting the current challenges."

Earlier, Turkmani and his accompanying delegation met Lebanese Defense Minister Mahmoud Hamoud and Lebanese Army Leader Major General Michael Sulieman.

Talks during the meeting dealt with means of cooperation and coordination and ways of strengthening the security defense needs to confront common threats.

Both sides discussed the critical situation in the region, particularly in Iraq and occupied Palestinian territories calling for activating joint Arab action due to its importance in stabilizing the region.