Iranian, Syrian presidents meet in Damascus

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Syrian President Bashar Al Assad met in Damascus on Saturday, two days after Assad held talks with a US envoy about the prospects of renewing peace negotiations with Israel.

The meeting suggested that Iran wants to keep close tabs on Syria's relations with the United States as Washington presses the secular ruling hierarchy in Damascus to distance itself from the Islamic Republic.

The United States started a rapprochement with Syria soon after US President Barack Obama took office last year, and US Middle East envoy George Mitchell met Assad in the Syrian capital on Thursday.

Mitchell said he had assured Assad that the US focus on securing a peace deal between the Palestinians and Israel would not distract Washington from seeking an Israeli-Syrian accord.

An official Syrian statement said Ahmadinejad and Assad discussed "a range of bilateral and international issues" and need to resolve the government crisis in neighbouring Iraq.

Assad met on Wednesday an envoy of acting Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki, signalling that Syria's dissatisfaction with Maliki, who has links with Iran and is vying to hold on to power after inconclusive elections in March, may have lessened.

Syrian political commentator Ayman Abdel Nour said Washington has been unable to drive a wedge between Ahmadinejad and Assad. "The Syrians have assured the Iranians that any progress in ties with the United States or in peace with Israel will not come on the expense of Tehran," he said.

Abdel Nour said Assad had stated publicly several times that he sees no prospects of peace with the current right leaning Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu, but said the Syrian leader was willing to "play the game of negotiations".

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