Khatami supports Syria, visits Ahlul Bait (p) shrines

By: Sultan Ahmed

DAMASCUS, Syrian: Iran's President Muhammad Khatami during a meeting in Damascus with his Syrian counterpart Bashar Al-Assad underlined his country’s support for Syria and said the two brotherly nations had to cooperate for the sake of peace in the Middle East and in the face of pressure from the US.

Khatami, accompanied by Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi, had arrived Thursday in the Syrian capital on the final leg of a tour that also took in Algeria, Sudan and Oman. He was greeted at Damascus airport by Syria's Foreign Minister Faruq Ash-Shara and they went straight on to a meeting with President Bashar Al-Assad.

The two men discussed the latest international developments and in the region, as well as bilateral ties. Khatami expressed Iran's interest in further exchange of views with Syrian officials about major regional developments.

Following the talks, the two leaders visited the holy shrines of Hazrat-e Zeinab (p) – daughter of Imam Ali (p) and Sayedeh Fatimah Zahraa (p) - and Hazrat-e Roqayyeh (p) – daughter of Imam Al-Hussein (p).

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