Nov 4, 2009, 16:46 GMT
Tehran - Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem met Iranian officials Wednesday for talks on bilateral topics and regional issues including Iraq, Lebanon and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
A Syrian diplomat told the German Press Agency dpa on Tuesday that al-Moallem would likely act as an intermediary between Saudi Arabia and Iran on regional issues.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, in a joint news briefing after the meeting, said Afghanistan was also discussed at the talks.
'We have a common stance with Syria, which is establishing peace and security in the region and respecting other countries' territorial integrity,' Mottaki was quoted as saying by the official news agency IRNA.
Syria and Iran are close allies. In Lebanon, Syria and Iran support Hezbollah, a political group with ministers in the cabinet and a military wing that in 2006 waged a war against Israel.
'Tehran and Damascus want to see friendly and cooperative relations between all Lebanese (political) groups,' Mottaki said, adding the two Muslim states would support establishment of a 'national unity government' in Lebanon.
In Gaza and the West Bank, Syria and Iran's support for Hamas and a coterie of smaller groups has rankled Israeli and western diplomats.
Al-Moallem also met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad later on Wednesday, media reports said without giving details of the talks.
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