Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif visited Syria on Tuesday morning, accompanied by high ranking officials. The relationship between the two states and the recent developments in the region will be discussed in the meeting. The Iranian regime had stood with the Damascus regime in 2011 when the civil war broke out.

Zarif will continue on to Ankara after 2 days of meetings in Syria. He is expected to meet with Turkish officials there.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement and said the two countries will discuss “bilateral relationships with all aspects” in the meeting, and exchange views regarding regional and international developments.

Zarif’s visit comes at a time when the US increases pressure on Iran. The US has stepped away from the nuclear deal and returned to sanctions, and the country added the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to their “list of terrorist organizations” last week.

The visit also comes at a time when the political and financial crises in Turkey have deepened and the local election results continue to ripple through politics. There is no more detailed information on the subjects to be discussed in the meeting other than the official statements.