Before he met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Wednesday that the ongoing crisis in Syria must be solved by the Syrians themselves.

Shortly after he arrived in Damascus and before he met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Wednesday that the ongoing crisis in Syria must be solved by the Syrians themselves.

State news agency, SANA, reported that President Assad received Salehi.
The Iranian FM, who was speaking at Damascus airport before the meeting with President Bashar Assad and other senior officials, said this should be done in "partnership with international and regional organizations."

Salehi, who called earlier this week for a simultaneous halt to fighting in the war-torn country, said "Syria is facing a problem, and we hope that this problem can be solved as soon as possible."

He said "Syria has very strong, solid ties with Iran, especially at the political level," and that he would discuss the conflict with Syrian officials.
"We will be consulting on all political aspects of this problem that Syria is facing," said Salehi.

Salehi, who held talks with his Syrian counterpart Walid Muallem before meeting Assad, called this week for a simultaneous halt in violence by both sides and insisted on a peaceful solution without foreign intervention.

Salehi’s visit comes two days after a meeting in Cairo on Monday of the contact group on Syria, which includes Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
During Cairo talks, he proposed that the four countries dispatch observers to Syria in an effort to quell the violence.