ByNews Desk- The Cradle
During his visit, Jordan’s foreign minister will reportedly hold a meeting with President Bashar al-Assad
Jordan’s Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ayman Safadi arrived in the Syrian capital Damascus on 3 July for his second official visit to the country since the earthquake in February this year.
According to Jordan’s official Al-Mamlaka news channel, Safadi will meet with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad and President Bashar al-Assad.
His visit will focus “on efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis, as well as other bilateral issues,” Ammon news agency reported.
Syria and Jordan restored long-strained ties in 2021, following years of heavy Jordanian involvement in the US-sponsored war, which began in 2011. This resulted in the reopening of the strategic Jaber-Nassif border crossing and the first phone call between Assad and Jordan’s King Abdullah II for the first time in a decade.
In the aftermath of the 6 February earthquake this year, which devastated Syria and Turkiye, several Arab countries rushed to the country’s aid. This was followed by a number of Arab states announcing their intention to restore ties with Damascus, including Saudi Arabia – who, as part of a major policy shift, had just signed a historic reconciliation with Iran in March.
Jordan played a key role in a Saudi-sponsored initiative to reintegrate Damascus into the fold, which saw Assad attend the Arab League summit for the first time in over 10 years.
As part of this initiative for ‘joint Arab action’ to end the Syrian crisis, Amman and Riyadh have been stressing continued diplomatic cooperation aimed at reaching a comprehensive political solution that would see refugee repatriation, reconstruction of Syria, and an end to the presence of armed groups.
While dialogue on these matters has continued between Syria and the Arab world, obstacles such as western sanctions and US occupation – as well as continued support for militant groups by Washington and Ankara – have complicated the peace process.
According to an informed source cited by Roya news agency, Safadi’s visit to Damascus also aims to stress the “assertion of the need to combat the smuggling of narcotics and weapons across the border between the two countries.”
Lately, drug smuggling has surged on the Syrian-Jordanian border, despite a recent boost in border security measures between Amman and Damascus.
Amman has accused Damascus of taking the threat lightly and, in early May, launched airstrikes inside Syria, allegedly killing a well-known drug trafficker along with his family.
Narcotics, quite commonly Captagon amphetamine pills, are smuggled into Jordan via Syria regularly.
The drug trade, among other political issues, has resulted in further tensions in the already turbulent Syrian governorate of Deraa, which lies in close proximity to the Jordanian border.
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