Story highlights Trump foreign policy adviser Walid Phares met with Arab ambassadors

He named Syria as the top priority, particularly ISIS

Washington (CNN) President-elect Donald Trump's push for greater ties to Russia will help in key administration priorities in the region, starting with ending the civil war in Syria, a Trump foreign policy adviser told Middle East diplomats on Wednesday.

Walid Phares met with Arab ambassadors Wednesday to brief them about the incoming Trump administration's policy toward the Middle East.

"We invited him as an adviser to President-elect Trump," one of the ambassadors said about the meeting at the Arab League offices in Washington. "We wanted to know what Trump's vision is for the region."

Phares was a foreign policy adviser to Trump's campaign, and he has continue to use the title in foreign media interviews and briefings to diplomats and think tanks around Washington and overseas.

According to four diplomats who participated in the meeting, Phares laid out a broad outline of the President-elect's priorities.

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