Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who arrived in the Syrian capital of Damascus this morning in the third destination of his trip after Russia and Lebanon, met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Strengthening and deepening bilateral relations between the two countries was emphasized during the meeting and the two sides exchanged views on developments in Afghanistan, Yemen, Iraq and Syria.

The Iranian Foreign Minister called the extensive contacts between the high-ranking officials of the two countries an indication of the depth of relations between Iran and Syria and congratulated Syria on its political, international and field victories, saying: "the recent United Nations General Assembly meetings indicated that Syria has changed."

Explaining the policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran towards the developments in Afghanistan, Amir Abdullahian said: "We are in contact with all parties in Afghanistan, including the Taliban, and we invite them to form a comprehensive government."

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in the meeting: "In the short time that has passed since our previous meeting, many changes have taken place that have been in the interest of all of us, and we have been able to hold the presidential election successfully."

He described the US withdrawal from Afghanistan a sign of the emergence of new axes and the decline of the Western axis and said: "Countries in the region and Afghanistan's neighbors know that the US does not accept responsibility for its actions and policies in Afghanistan."

The Syrian president added: "The Islamic Republic of Iran has the capacity and must enter into negotiations with its neighbors and other countries involved in the developments in Afghanistan, because the Americans want to create differences between Afghanistan's neighbors."

Bashar al-Assad reminded: "We are interacting with the Constitutional Committee within the framework of Syria's national interests, and not by interfering and imposing foreign views."

Regarding the developments in Idlib, he also stressed on the necessity for the end of occupation in Syria and the return of all occupied territories to Syria.

Upon his arrival in Damascus, the Iranian foreign minister said, "Iran's relations with Syria is strategic and we are trying to expand our cooperation with this country in all areas. Syria is developing and we will stand by the country again firmly as we stood by it during the era of fighting against terrorism."

"In recent weeks, important agreements have been reached on the comprehensive development of Iran-Syria relations," he added. "Our bilateral agreements will be implemented quickly and the two nations will benefit from it."

This is Iran foreign minister's second visit to Syria since taking office.

Reporter's code: 50101