AMMAN (Dispatches) – Jordan and Syria have held their first technical talks on opening a major border crossing in southern Syria that was recaptured from terrorists last July, a Jordanian official source says.
Damascus, which took back the crossing from the terrorists, hopes to reopen the Nassib route vital to its hopes of reviving Syria’s shattered economy and rebuilding in territory under its control.
Amman also hopes the opening of the border crossing will reactivate billions of dollars of annual transit trade between Europe and Persian Gulf markets across Syria.
The source told Reuters the meeting that was requested by Syria was held on Wednesday at the Jaber crossing, on the Jordanian side of the border, where technical teams began talks on the practical arrangements from customs to security needed to reopen the crossing.
"The meetings will continue to put a complete view of all the arrangements linked to reopening the crossings in the coming period,” the source said.
The crossing’s recapture by Syrian forces in July was one main goal of a Russian-backed military campaign launched last June to regain control of terrorist-held parts of the southwest.
Western diplomatic sources say Russia had been pressing Amman to open the crossing as part of a drive to show the war was drawing to a close and to help rehabilitate President Bashar al Assad.