Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has begun a three-day visit to Syria by announcing that the two countries are united against what he called "U.S. imperialism."
Mr. Chavez and Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad met Wednesday in Damascus to discuss bilateral cooperation.
Mr. Al-Assad stressed that the two countries have very close positions on international issues.
Support for Mr. Chavez in the Arab world has soared since Venezuela withdrew its ambassador to Israel at the start of the Israeli military offensive in Lebanon.
The Venezuelan president called Israel's attacks against Hezbollah "genocide." In response, Israel recalled its own ambassador from Venezuela.
Mr. Chavez has accused Washington of plotting against him and his government, something U.S. officials deny.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
