Damascus, (SANA)- President Bashar al-Assad, at a joint press conference Thursday morning with President Mahomoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, said that in spite of big frustrations and stumbles that did harm to the region and to its people, yet the outcome during the past stage was in favour of the resistance forces in the region which resisted, and defended the rights and causes of their peoples.

President al-Assad added that "on the other hand, there was the failure of the forces that stood in the opposite trench. With each juncture and occasion we can see these forces moving form a failure to another. We hope that the day will come when a religious celebration is held simultaneously with their big failure....such a day will undoubtedly come."

Canceling entry visas between the two countries would strengthen relations at all levels without exception

President al-Assad went on to say, ''We are meeting today to communicate and hold dialogue on various issues and thorny and complicated topics in this region…such a meeting not only comes in the course of years-long regular and routine meetings between the two countries, but it also coincides with this noble occasion adding special meanings…This is a blessed occasion to which we sought to add the bless of work and communication.''

''We wanted this festive day to be one of accomplishment, so we signed an agreement on annulling entry visas between Syria and Iran…This agreement would result in more communication and enhancing of the common interests of the Syrian and Iranian peoples,'' President al-Assad said.

The President added that the ''bilateral relations cannot remain confined to the political domain for decades. Economically speaking, this relation cannot be restricted to projects and big companies, given that the real relationship between two countries and peoples starts from the individual, from the base upwards to the summit and not vice-versa.''

His Excellency continued to say, ''I believe this agreement will push relations along this direction, and will further enhance the relations at all levels and in all sectors with no exception.'

Strengthening relations between our peoples turns us from importers into makers of the future

"We have no choice other than being together through enhancing communication, strengthening relations and expanding the network of interests between our countries…This is the only way if we actually and practically want to get what we call the independent decision which turns us from importers into makers of the future," President al-Assad told the news conference.

Ahmadinejad: New Middle East is in a phase of evolution, ties among peoples of the region are very strong 

For his part, the Iranian president said that the new Middle East is in a phase of evolution, adding that the ties among peoples of the region are very strong. Ahmadinejad added that developments in the world will be in favor of Iran and Syria, and the free peoples and governments.

The Iranian president called upon the Zionist entity not to repeat past mistakes, adding that this will lead to its inevitable end because peoples of the region will stand up against it.

Syrian-Iranian relations are deep, developed, wide and permanent…There is no factor that could affect them

President Ahmadinejad stressed that Syrian-Iranian brotherly relations are deep, developed, wide and permanent…There is no factor that could affect these brotherly relations and they are developing and deepening more and more.

He added that our interests and goals are common and cooperation between us is expanding day after day in the economic, cultural and political fields… the prospects of these relations is clear, bright and constructive… and we intend to develop them as much as possible

President Al-Assad: We are always preparing ourselves for an Israeli aggression whether it is small or big scale

Answering a question on the latest Israeli threats, President al-Assad said, ''These threats did not come as an isolated case and should not be viewed as such, but we have to consider them in the context of the Israeli history that is based on treachery, aggression, occupation, expansion and hegemony,''

The president added, ''At the same time, it is an error to assess this case through statements or probabilities…The statements do not mean that Israel will launch an aggression, nor does the absence of statements mean that Israel will not do so,''

He went on to say, ''We primarily suppose that there is an entity that may launch an aggression at any time, in view of its aggressive history that was built on aggression…Regardless of these statements, we are always preparing ourselves for an Israeli aggression whether it is small or big scale,''

''If we want to examine these statements, they may imply a message to Syria and another to the resistance to push it towards submission,''

President al-Assad continued, ''They may also carry a message to the Israelis intended to lift their morale after a series of setbacks and defeats that befell Israel, so our reaction will not be based on statements but it is based on our view of Israel. It is natural that we have to be prepared at any time and moment for any Israeli aggression that may occur under any pretext or reason'', the President said.

President al-Assad said, '' The so-called new Middle East and the proposed projects to partition the region will not start from maps and borders, but from minds and hearts …When these maps become ripe in our hearts and minds, they will project them on the ground,''

Western officials stance regarding Iran's nuclear file issue is plotted in advance  

President al-Assad said "I listened to my brother Ahmadinejad about his country's stance on the Iranian nuclear file, and based upon what I have heard from the Western officials during the last months and weeks, I undoubtedly think that what is going on is an act of new colonization in the region and hegemony through preventing a sovereign, UN member country who seek to possess peaceful nuclear energy from the right of enrichment in spite of the noticeable Iranian flexibility shown during the last two months."

"But the issue is plotted in advance… the Islamic countries are prohibited to possess that technology or any technologies which mean that we have no right to gain knowledge," the President added.

President al-Assad said that what will be applied on Iran will be later applied on the other countries… so our stance in Syria is based on our understanding of this issue and principles… and I think that our interest as a country, like other countries, to seek the possession of peaceful energy one day in the future.

We hope others will not give us lessons when it comes to our region and history

In reply to a question on the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's latest statements calling upon Syria to steer away from Iran, President al-Assad said, ''We are meeting today to sign a separation agreement between Syria and Iran, but things went wrong probably because of translation or lack of understanding, so we signed an agreement to cancel entry visas…I don not know whether the two things get along,''

He continued, ''I wonder how they talk about stability in the Middle East and all other attractive principles while at the same time calling for the separation of two countries…Here I am not talking about Syria and Iran regardless of the strategic relations between the two countries and faith in the mutual principles,''

President al-Assad added, '' Supposing that principles were different and viewpoints on other issues were also different, we would have needed to further enhance these relations if stability is the real aim…but I have been talking about independent decisions, communication among peoples, enhancing interests and the lessons we learnt from others,''

''We hope others will not give us lessons when it comes to our region and history…We can decide how things will proceed and we know what is our interest…We thank them for their advice,'' the president added.

I. al-Kazhali/ M. Ismael/ A.N.Idlebi/ M. Eyon/ Ghossoun