Ammon News -
Syrian President Bashar Assad on Monday received Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi in Damascus.
The meeting covered efforts to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis and address its consequences, in addition to bilateral relations.
Safadi highlighted Jordan's efforts to gradually move towards a comprehensive solution that ends the crisis and addresses its humanitarian, security and political consequences internationally and in the context of the Arab track that was launched after the Jeddah and Amman meetings.
The meeting focused on the voluntary return of refugees and the necessary steps to enable it.
In his meeting with the Syrian President, Safadi also discussed the danger of drug smuggling across the Syrian border to the Kingdom and the necessity of cooperation in confronting it.
President Bashar Assad stressed the importance of brotherly relations between Jordan and Syria, and the need to develop them to serve the interests of the two brotherly countries.
Safadi and his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Al-Miqdad, held extensive talks that dealt with many bilateral issues, and the Arab track to contribute to resolving the Syrian crisis.
The two ministers agreed on the composition of the joint committee to combat drug smuggling, and on a date for holding its first meeting in Amman. Holding meetings between relevant officials in the water, agriculture, transport and energy sectors was also agreed upon.
The two ministers reviewed the preparations for the meeting of the Arab Liaison Committee expected to be held next month.
In a joint press conference with Al-Miqdad, Safadi said that his meeting with President Assad dealt in depth with bilateral issues, and efforts to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis that "ends this catastrophe and addresses all its humanitarian, security and political consequences, and guarantees Syria's unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty, and achieves the aspirations of the brotherly Syrian people, saves it from terrorism, and create conditions that allow the voluntary return of Syrian refugees.
Safadi added that his meeting with the Syrian President and his talks with Al-Miqdad resulted in an agreement to hold a meeting of the joint committee on water to deal with this issue, and meetings between the transport ministers of the two countries in order to address issues related to the transport sector, and other technical meetings that deal with bilateral issues and contribute to increasing cooperation, which reflects well on the two brotherly countries and peoples.
Safadi indicated that forming a joint committee to deal with the drug smuggling issue in implementation of the Amman Declaration, and to hold its first meeting as soon as possible, was also agreed upon.
Safadi said that drug smuggling through Syria to Jordan is a real and escalating danger that must be faced with cooperation, and that the Kingdom will continue to do everything necessary to "protect our national security from this danger."
With regard to the targeted efforts to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis, Safadi said that after the Jeddah meeting and during the Amman meeting, "we agreed on a roadmap to gradually move towards resolving the Syrian crisis and addressing its consequences." Safadi added, "We want to take practical steps towards addressing the consequences of this crisis, and to prepare for the meeting of the Arab Liaison Committee, which was approved by the Arab League, which we hope will convene next month, in order to produce practical outputs that contribute to addressing the consequences of the crisis."
Safadi said that the crisis, which stretched over 12 years and had significant consequences, would not be resolved overnight, "but we started a serious Arab track aimed at resolving the crisis," and according to a step by step-based methodology and aligned with Resolution 2254 so that there is a practical move towards a solution.
Safadi said that the Kingdom is one of those most affected by the Syrian crisis and is greatly concerned with its solution, "and for that we are continuing the efforts led by His Majesty King Abdullah in order to take practical steps towards this solution."
He stressed that refugees crisis is a fundamental issue for Jordan, as it hosts about 1.3 million Syrian brothers, only 10 per cent of whom live in refugee camps, and 90 per cent are scattered in all cities, villages and towns of the Kingdom, pointing out that Jordan has granted more than 300,000 work permits to refugees, and that about 155,000 Syrian students are studying in public schools.
He said that Jordan is doing everything it can to provide a decent life for the refugees, "but what we affirm is that the future of the refugees is in their country, and the solution to the refugee issue is in their return to their country," and this requires creating conditions that ensure their return and provide them with a decent life. "Our efforts are continuing to invest in the necessary infrastructure to encourage the voluntary return of refugees and provide them with the requirements for a decent life in their country," he added.
Safadi also stressed the need to cooperate with the international community in efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis, because the sanctions are imposed by the international community, "and we must follow a path that takes us towards creating conditions that allow the end of these sanctions and Syria's full recovery."
Safadi added that great difficulties face efforts to reach a political solution to the crisis, "However, we realize the inevitability of this effort because resolving the Syrian crisis is a fundamental interest for Syria and the brotherly Syrian people, and an interest for us in the region and an interest for the world as well, because the consequences of this crisis were reflected not only in our region, but also outside it."
"We have a lot of work ahead of us, a great effort ahead of us, we agree on the foundations on which we must proceed, and the Amman Declaration is a roadmap that we are moving towards its implementation and progress towards a final solution to this crisis," Safadi said.
He said that he had spoken with his Syrian counterpart about "what is required in Syria and what is required internationally so that we can move forward."
"At the Amman meeting, we talked about the voluntary return of about a thousand refugees; until they return, what is required from the Syrian government? What is required from the international community? I think we are very close to crystallizing the foundations on which this process will take place," Safadi underlined.
Responding to a question on what is practically required to support efforts to resolve the crisis, Safadi said, "There is an in-depth discussion about the steps required to address the consequences of the humanitarian, security and political crisis. Of course, we will not be able to conclude this discussion in one or two or three meetings. We are talking, but in principle we agree that any progress towards resolving the crisis must address all these consequences."
"We cannot deal with everything at once. We must be gradual, as we practically cannot deal with everything (at once). Therefore, there is a frank, transparent, deep talk about everything that is required until we reach the result we desire, and the result we want is a comprehensive solution to the Syrian crisis that ends this catastrophe and ends the suffering it caused to the Syrian people and the threats it produced to the entire region," Safadi emphasized.
For his part, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Al-Miqdad said, "When we talk about Syria and Jordan, we are talking about one country and people, and common interests."
He added that the most important topics discussed were the recent Arab summit, and the bilateral relations between the two countries, "In this context, we found that we have a common interest for security and stability to prevail in our Arab countries, especially in the region."
"We are consulting with our brothers in Jordan on many issues, including the issue of refugees, as you know, and the best options for the return of these refugees to their country, Syria," Al-Miqdad said.
"We say on once again that every Syrian, wherever he is in this world, the right to return to his country and he is welcome, and he will be dealt with within the framework of the law and within the framework of sovereignty, and there is no one in Syria who was pushed by the state to leave his homeland, he does not need to issue an invitation, but we need to secure basic requirements in order to realize this return," he noted.
Al-Miqdad stressed the importance of deep bilateral coordination, especially before the next meeting of the Arab Liaison Committee, "to be ready to come up with unified visions that reflect an authentic Arab position, in order to solve the problems we face in Syria and the problems facing the region in general."
Answering a question on establishing conditions for the refugees return, Al-Miqdad said that he knows what Jordan offers to Syrian refugees, "But look outside Jordan to see this really sad picture. In any case, this is an opportunity to invite every Syrian citizen to return to his homeland, and rest assured that he will not find any obstacles to his return."
"We consulted in Amman, we consulted in Jeddah, and we consulted on the sidelines of the Arab summit (on efforts to resolve the crisis), and there are a set of ideas and a set of perceptions," Al-Miqdad said in his response to a question.
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