MOSCOW. Dec 14 (Interfax) - The Russian Foreign Ministry has advised against drawing far-reaching conclusions after the new foreign minister of Syria, Faisal Mekdad, chose Iran, not Russia, as the country of his first official foreign visit.
"Speaking specifically, right after assuming office Syrian Foreign Minister Mekdad expressed his wish to pay a working visit to the Russian Federation. Which was natural, considering the strategic, allied nature of our bilateral relations. Prompt arrangements were made for Mekdad to visit Russia at the earliest convenient time for both sides," the Russian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Maria Zakharova told the media, when asked if such a choice was a demonstration of Mekdad's prioritizing the relations with Iran over those with Russia.
Later, because of changes in the working schedule of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, "this visit was rescheduled for another date at our initiative," she said.
"Now we are waiting for Mekdad in Moscow on December 16. So, no need to look for a political subtext where it was not in the first place, and could not possibly be," Zakharova said in her reply, published on the ministry's website on Friday.