Tehran, Dec 9 (IANS): Iranian President Hassan Rouhani Tuesday reaffirmed his country's support to the Syrian government, saying Iran will remain by the side of Syria in fighting terrorism.

Those groups in Syria which have resorted to arms against the Syrian government and its nation "are not dissidents but terrorists", Rouhani said during a meeting with visiting Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, on the sidelines of a two-day international conference, the World Against Extremism and Violence (WAVE), in Tehran Tuesday.

Over the past few months, the world public opinion has realised that militants in Syria have been "terrorists, and even those who created these groups have started to keep distance from them", Xinhua cited Rouhani as saying.

The support of some countries to the militant groups in Syria has not been a right policy and has resulted in the spread of violence and insecurity in the region, he added.

Also, the world has come to the understanding today that the Syrian government and its army were capable of confronting the terrorists and protecting the Arab state, Rouhani said, adding that this, more than ever, has made it necessary to think of a political solution to Syria's problems.

In his address to Tuesday's conference, Rouhani said one of the ways to tackle the issue of terrorism in the region was to block its funding means.

For his part, Moallem expressed his gratitude for Iran's support to Syria, saying that "Iran and Syria are on the same front".

He also criticised the West for what he termed as their "support to terrorist groups" in Syria.

Moallem, who headed a delegation to attend the WAVE conference in Tehran, hailed Iran's initiative for holding this conference, calling for a world without violence and extremism.