The visit comes after Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said Damascus was determined to help Iran and the West engage in a "constructive" dialogue over Tehran’s contested nuclear programme. French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said during a weekend visit to Damascus that Syria can help find an agreement on Iran's nuclear drive. Western governments suspect that the nuclear programme in Iran — which earlier this month started higher grade uranium enrichment -- is cover for a drive to produce a bomb. Tehran vehemently denies the allegation. The Iranian president's last visit to Syria, a close ally of the Islamic republic for the past 30 years, dates back to May 2009. On Wednesday, President Barack Obama's administration said it has been pressing Syria -- amid steps toward a normalisation of US-Syria ties -- to move away from Iran and stop arming Lebanon's Shiite militant movement Hezbollah. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Washington is also urging Syria to stop interfering in Lebanon, cooperate in Iraq and resume peace talks with Israel when she disclosed the administration's price for deeper engagement with Syria.