Syria says unity with Iran beneficial to region

Syria's Parliament Speaker Mahmud al-Abrash said yesterday that unity and convergence with Iran would be beneficial to all regional states.

Al-Abrash was speaking in a meeting with Iran's Ambassador to Syria Mohammad-Hassan Akhtari. He said Iran's power and potentials is regarded as the power of Syria and the world of Islam.

He urged regional states to pay attention to the fact that Iran's capabilities were a cause of honor for regional nations and Muslims throughout the world.

Akhtari, for his part, conveyed congratulations of Iran's Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel on the occasion of al-Abrash's re-election as Syria's Parliament Speaker.

He expressed hope the Syrian parliament would beef up its efforts to further expand ties with Iran during its new term.

"We expect the Iranian and Syrian parliaments to further promote ties and witness exchange of parliamentary delegations and consultations between MPs," the envoy said.

Meantime, Akhtari met and conferred with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem. The Syrian minister stressed expansion of Iran-Syria ties in all areas and called for increased consultations between the two countries on leading regional developments.