AMMAN (AFP/AP) – Jordan’s top diplomat said on Monday that regional talks with Syria are a step in the right direction to end a decade of the war-torn country’s political isolation and bring Damascus back into the Arab fold.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi’s remarks came as Jordan hosted a meeting of envoys from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt and Syria. Before the meeting kicked off, Safadi met one-on-one with his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad.
Regional leaders met in Jordan Monday to discuss Syria’s return to the Arab fold and a Jordanian proposal to reach a “political solution” to the conflict in Syria.
The talks, attended by the top diplomats of Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Egypt, kicked off with a meeting between Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, followed by a meeting of all the ministers.
A Jordanian foreign ministry spokesman said the meeting came as a follow-up to talks with the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt that were held in Saudi Arabia last month. The spokesman added that those countries aimed to build on their contacts with the Syrian government and discuss a “Jordanian initiative to reach a political solution to the crisis in Syria.”
Syria was ostracized by Arab governments after the foreign-backed war waged on Syria. However, in recent years, as President Bashar al-Assad consolidated control over most of the country, Syria’s neighbors have begun to take steps toward rapprochement.
The overtures picked up pace after a deadly Feb. 6 earthquake in Turkey and Syria, and the Chinese-brokered reestablishment of ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which had backed opposing sides in the conflict.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan visited Damascus last month for the first time since the kingdom cut ties with Syria more than a decade ago.
Syria’s membership in the Arab League was suspended following the eruption of a foreign-backed militancy in the country in 2011.
In 2015, Syrian activists said that Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, and Turkey supported both al-Nusra Front, which is affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Daesh terrorist group in Syria by giving them money or allowing Wahhabi mosques to collect money for them.
Around the same time, former U.S. Senate candidate, Mark Dankof said the United States, the Zionist regime, and Saudi Arabia had been involved in creating the Daesh terrorist group to overthrow the legitimate Syrian government.
Saudi Arabia closed its embassy in Damascus and withdrew all diplomats in March 2012. The two governments agreed last month to resume diplomatic relations and re-open embassies.
The UAE also cut its relations with Syria in 2012, a year after Damascus found itself in the grips of foreign-backed violence, but it reopened its embassy in Damascus in 2018.