<p style="text-align: left;">According to IRNA Zarif was welcomed by Syrian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Feisal al-Meqdad, and a number of other Syrian and Iranian officials.<br /> He is slated to visit Syrian officials, including President Bashar al-Assad on his one day stay in the city.<br /> This is Zarif's second visit to Damascus as the foreign minister of Iran. Senior assistant to Iran's foreign minister for political affairs Hossein Jaberi-Ansari accompanies Zarif on the visit.<br /> In addition to holding meetings with senior Syrian officials, Zarif is also to consult with Syria, as Iran's strategic partner, on the verge of a trilateral meeting that is to be held in Tehran soon.<br /> Iranian, Russian, and Turkish presidents, respectively Hassan Rouhani, Vladimir Putin, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan are to meet in Tehran to discuss latest developments in Syria.<br /> Cooperation among Iran, Russia and Turkey for solving Syrian crisis, known as Astana process, began some two years ago. Since then, several rounds of talks have been held and significant progress has been made.<br /> The trio also held 13 expert meetings so far; the results of which show that regional disputes and crises can be solved through joint efforts.<br /> Reporter's code: 50101</p>