Pres. Raisi: We seek to strengthen Tehran-Damascus ties, especially in economy, trade

AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The Iran's President described the Iran-Syria relations strategic and emphasised on strengthening the strong foundations of the relations between the two countries, especially in the economic and trade fields.

Speaking in a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Syria Faisal Mekdad on Monday, Ayatollah Dr Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi said, "Today, long-term, comprehensive planning should be done to develop and deepen relations between Tehran and Damascus”.

The President described the volume of trade and economic exchanges between the two countries much lower than the desired level and said, "There are many capacities to increase the volume and amount of economic exchanges between the two countries, by activating which, the volume of economic exchanges can be increased several times".

Ayatollah Raisi referred to the illegal presence of foreign forces in the region and in Syria, calling it dangerous for the security and stability of the region and said, "ISIL is made by the Americans and today the presence of ISIL and the United States everywhere in the region is a great damage to security, stability and peace of peoples”.

Dr Raisi pointed out, "Great martyrs such as Haj Qasem Soleimani crippled the United States and its proxy groups in the region, including ISIL and Zionist terrorism".

Ayatollah Raisi stressed the importance of maintaining Syria's security and stability and its authoritative presence in regional equations and said, "Today, Syria is at the forefront of resistance against the Zionists with its anti-Zionist approach and the history of the resistance of Syrian people and government against cowardly aggression will be proudly recorded”.

Emphasising the need to respect the territorial integrity of Syria, the President said, "Ignoring the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries by any country is not acceptable and the Syrian people will certainly not tolerate it".

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad also conveyed the message of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and invited Ayatollah Raisi to visit the country, saying, "Syria is determined to activate all capacities for cooperation with the aim of growing Tehran-Damascus relations in the interest of the two nations”.

The Syrian people will never forget the support and assistance of the Islamic Republic of Iran, he said, adding, "Syria puts a great emphasis on the continuation of the sustainable, powerful relations that the leaders of the two nations have created, and the blood of Martyr Soleimani guarantees the deep bond between the two nations and we believe that Martyr Soleimani belongs to all of us and we will not forget the sacrifice of our martyrs”.

Faisal Mekdad pointed out, "The United States uses the most evil methods in its relations with some countries in the region and seeks to dominate and humiliate the Zionists in the region by disrespecting and humiliating them”.

"With the resistance of the Syrian people and the Resistance Front, the conspiracies of the United States, the Zionist Regime and its allies in the region have failed, and today they have reached the point that Syria has not failed and have changed their approach," he said.

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