JORDAN OFFERS SYRIA SUPPORT IN MEETING WITH NEW LEADER

Mon 23 December 2024:

Jordan stands ready to help Syria rebuild, its Foreign Minister Ayman Al-Safadi said after meeting the new Syrian de facto ruler Ahmed Al-Sharaa in Damascus on Monday, the highest-level contact by an Arab state with Syria’s new administration, Reuters has reported.

Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Al-Khulaifi also arrived in Damascus on Monday for meetings. He flew in on the first Qatar Airways flight to land in the Syrian capital since former President Bashar Al-Assad’s ouster, said the Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson on social media.

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The meetings further widen the diplomatic contacts of the new administration established after Al-Sharaa’s Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), a former Al-Qaeda affiliate, led a decisive offensive that overthrew Assad after more than 13 years of civil war.

The end of Assad’s rule has upended the geopolitics of the Middle East, dealing a major blow to his ally Iran and paving the way for other states to build new ties with a country at the crossroads of the region. Turkiye, which has long backed the Syrian opposition, was the first regional state to send its foreign minister to Damascus.

Al-Sharaa, also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad Al-Julani, wore a suit and tie during the meeting with Jordan’s foreign minister. “Our talks were clear that we in the Kingdom are ready to provide support,” said Al-Safadi after the meeting. He added that the new Syrian administration must have the opportunity to develop its plans. “I focused on reconstruction efforts and Jordan will provide aid.”

Syria’s stability is a key security concern for Jordan, a US ally. The Hashemite Kingdom shares a border with Syria.

Al-Safadi said that he agreed with Al-Sharaa on cooperating to counter the smuggling of drugs and weapons from Syria to Jordan, which was a problem for years under Assad. The Jordanian official also noted that ISIS/Daesh, with which HTS clashed earlier in the Syrian war, remains a threat.

“Our brothers in Syria also realise that this is a threat,” he said. “God willing, we will all cooperate, not just Jordan and Syria, but all Arab countries and the international community, in fighting this scourge that poses a threat to everyone.”

There was no immediate statement on the meeting from the Syrian side.

Al-Sharaa, who met senior US diplomats last week, severed ties with Al-Qaeda in 2016. He has said that his primary focus is on reconstruction and achieving economic development, and that he is not interested in engaging in any new conflicts.

-MEMO

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