Suleiman Meets Iran's Rowhani, Both Urge a Peaceful Solution for Syrian War

President Michel Suleiman met on Sunday with newly sworn-in Iranian head of state Hasan Rowhani, and both leaders stressed on the need to find a peaceful solution for the Syrian crisis.

"The Lebanese and Iranian presidents expressed that they are ready to cooperate with other countries in the region to find a peaceful solution for the war in Syria,” the state-run National News Agency revealed.

The NNA added: “Suleiman stressed on the approach adopted by Rowhani to deal with problems facing Iran and the region.”

In the speech he gave after being sworn-in, Rowhani addressed Western leaders, saying that the only path to interact with Iran is through “negotiations on equal grounds, reciprocal trust-building, mutual respect and reducing hostilities.”

Suleiman and Rowhani discussed also the latest developments in the region and the roles of Lebanon and Iran in this respect.

"They both agreed on strengthening stability, peace, cooperation, openness and moderation to overcome obstacles and difficulties.”

Meanwhile, Rowhani thanked Suleiman for his participation in the ceremony, considering that the president's visit to Iran represents the cooperation between the two nations.

Suleiman had arrived earlier in the morning to Tehran, where he attended Rowhani's oath before the Iranian parliament.

He was accompanied by deputy PM Samir Moqbel and caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour.

Rowhani formally took office on Saturday at a ceremony in which he received the endorsement of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In defiance of its international isolation, Iran for the first time invited top representatives of several countries, except for the United States and Israel, to Sunday's swearing-in.