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Syria seeks anti-terror cooperation with Russia, Iran

Xinhua, April 28, 2015 Adjust font size:

Syria's Defense Minister Fahd al-Freij has started a two-day visit to Iran to enhance cooperation in the fight against terrorism, state news agency SANA reported Tuesday.

Leading a military delegation, the Syrian army chief will have talks with his Iranian counterpart, Col. Hussain Dahqan, and other senior military officials to discuss ways of cooperation to face the threats of terrorism and other regional challenges, according to the report.

The visit comes a day after Syrian Interior Minister Mohammad al-Shaar and his Russian counterpart, Gen. Vladimir Kolokoltsev, signed in Moscow a cooperation agreement on countering terrorism.

The agreement provides a new legal springboard to further bolster bilateral ties, Kolokoltsev said.

For his part, al-Shaar said the deal sets new mechanisms to counter and eliminate terrorism, adding that the cooperation to counter terrorism and extremism is a top priority for the two countries.

Iran and Russia have emerged as the staunchest allies to the Syrian government throughout the four-year-old Syrian war.

Such deals of cooperation come at time when the Syrian army has lost several key areas over the past few months to al-Qaida-linked militants, mainly the city of Idlib near Turkey, and the Nasib border crossing with Jordan.

Also, the Islamic State (IS) group has infiltrated into the Yarmouk Camp for Palestinian refugees south of the capital Damascus. Endit