TUNISIA, July 31. /TASS/. The defense minister in the transitional government of Syria, Murhaf Abu Qasra has discussed a number of common military issues with his Russian counterpart Andrey Belousov, the Syrian Defense Ministry has said on its Telegram channel.

According to the statement, the minister was accompanied at the meeting by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and the head of the General Intelligence Directorate Hussein Salama. "During the meeting, they discussed a number of common military issues that serve the interests of Syrian-Russian relations," the ministry said.

The Syrian defense minister arrived in Moscow on Thursday as part of a delegation led by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani. This is the first official visit by representatives of the new Syrian authorities to Russia.