Syria, Iran waive visas as leaders meet in Damascus

DAMASCUS - Syria and Iran Thursday signed an agreement waiving visa requirements for their nationals as the two countries’ presidents met in Damascus to reaffirm their “deeply rooted” ties.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said relations between his country and Iran were “deeply rooted” after meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, amid faltering US efforts to woo Syria away from its alliance with Iran.

Their meeting followed US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s recent comments that Damascus should keep a distance from its “deeply troubling” relationship with Tehran, and the appointment of a new US ambassador to the country, five years after the last one was withdrawn.

“How can (the United States) talk about security and peace in the region, and then call for distance between two countries?” al-Assad asked rhetorically at a joint press conference with Ahmadinejad.

“The era of America giving orders to nations from across the sea is over,” Ahmadinejad said.

“All our conflicts stem from the enemies of Islam. Look at Iraq: People from different sects were living there for thousands of years, marrying each other. It was not until the American occupation that sects became a problem,” he said.

Al-Assad said he hoped the visa-waiver agreement would lead to deeper relations between the Iranian and Syrian peoples.

“Bilateral relations cannot remain confined to the political domain for decades. This agreement will lead to more communication … between the two countries,” al-Assad said.

The agreement was signed by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem and his Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki, who accompanied Ahmadinejad on the visit.

Ahmadinejad arrived Thursday morning for talks with al-Assad and to attend a religious ceremony to mark the Prophet Mohammed’s birthday.

“We meet today on this occasion to celebrate,” al-Assad said. “We hope one day to celebrate our feasts and (our enemies’) failure at the same time.”

Al-Assad added he and Ahmadinejad had discussed “Israeli terrorism and crimes.”

“We cannot view Israeli threats as isolated events,” he said. “Rather, we must see them in the context of Israel’s history of aggression and expansion.”

“The Zionist entity is heading for disappearance,” Ahmadinejad said. “The philosophy of its existence is obsolete. Time is not running in the favour of the occupiers.”

“And we know - both our peoples know, and the whole region knows - that if the Zionist entity repeats its same mistakes, it will meet its inevitable end,” Ahmadinejad said, warning Israel against a military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Al-Assad reiterated Syria’s support for Iran’s nuclear programme, which Iran and Syria is restricted to peaceful purposes.

The Western position on Iran’s nuclear programme is “a new colonialism in the region,” al-Assad said.