MOSCOW - Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallim met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday amid mounting international pressure on Damascus to withdraw its troops from Lebanon.
"I have just conducted very fruitful talks with Deputy Foreign Minister (Alexander) Saltanov concerning the situation in the Middle East and particularly Lebanon and Iraq," al-Muallim said before going into talks with Lavrov.
"I am glad that our views correspond on all of these questions," he said.
Although Russia views Syria as its closest Middle East ally, Lavrov said Wednesday that Moscow supported a withdrawal of the 14,000 soldiers but cautioned that it should be conducted at a pace that "does not violate the very fragile balance which we still have in Lebanon."
The visit comes as Syrian diplomats fan out across the world to consult regional players over how to react to the mounting pressure to withdraw its troops, who have been in Lebanon for nearly 30 years, that followed the February 14 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri that Washington and many in Lebanon have blamed on Damascus.
Moscow has been a close ally of Damascus since the Soviet era and this year signed a deal to sell new air defense systems to Syria that infuriated both Israel and the United States.
Russia also has its only Mediterranean base on the Syrian shores -- its only remaining foreign naval base.
The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement Thursday that the two sides would discuss UN Security Council resolution 1559 passed last September -- and supported by Russia -- which first called for the Syrian withdrawal.
"We will also discuss in detail the strengthening of Russian-Syrian cooperation in various spheres," the Russian foreign ministry statement said.
The media here said Moscow intends to build ever closer relations with Damascus despite its growing international isolation because it remains its closest Middle Eastern ally and provides Russia with a foothold -- and an arms market -- in the volatile region.
The Kommersant business daily said Russia is now trying to convince Syria to follow international advice and withdraw its troops because of a growing threat of an attack against its close ally.
"It seems that Moscow believes that the odds of military action against Syria is very high and is trying to convince its closest Middle Eastern ally to take a step back -- and to save its friend from a strike," the Kommersant business daily wrote.
"Coming under ever increasing attack from Washington, Damascus began searching for a stable strategic partner and settled on Russia," the newspaper wrote.
03/04/2005 13:39 GMT