TEHRAN, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that relations between Iran and Syria are "strategic" and Iran will stand by the Syrian people and government as a "strategic ally," the state TV reported.
"With no doubt we (Iran and Syria) must continue our resistance to the end and finalize destruction of terrorists," Rouhani said in a meeting with visiting Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad.
Rouhani also voiced Iran's support for the Syrian government's efforts in constitutional reform and for the Astana peace process which he described as "useful and capable of preserving Syria's interests and territorial integrity."
He also denounced the U.S. sanction pressures on both Iran and Syria.
For his part, Mekdad praised Tehran-Damascus political relations as "very close and exemplary" in the world.
He also condemned the assassinations of Iranian senior military commander Qassem Soleimani and Iran's top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.
Mekdad also held talks with Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani earlier in the day and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday.
The Syrian foreign minister arrived in Tehran on Monday for a two-day visit. It was Mekdad's first foreign visit since he was appointed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Nov. 22 after his predecessor Walid al-Moallem died on Nov. 16.
Iran has been a major ally of the Syrian government in its fight against the armed rebels since 2011. Enditem
