Jordan's foreign minister holds talks with Syria's new leader

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi expressed his country's support for Syria's reconstruction in a meeting with its new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, on Monday, in the latest visit to Damascus by a high-profile delegation since Bashar al-Assad's overthrow.

It was the first trip to Syria by a senior Jordanian official since Assad's fall, with images distributed by the Jordanian foreign ministry showing Safadi and Sharaa shaking hands.

Jordan's official Al-Mamlaka TV later reported that Safadi had discussed avenues of cooperation with the new authorities, including in the areas of trade, border management, aid and electricity connections, and security.

Safadi expressed support for "a government that represents all spectrums in Syria," as well as for "the drafting of a new constitution," according to Al-Mamlaka.

"We agree to support the Syrian people in rebuilding their state," he was quoted as saying, adding that "the Arab countries agree to support Syria at this stage without any external interference."

Jordan, which borders Syria to the south, hosted a summit earlier this month where top Arab, Turkish, EU, and U.S. diplomats called for an inclusive and peaceful transition after years of civil war.

Sharaa, whose Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) spearheaded the offensive that toppled Assad on December 8, has welcomed senior officials from a host of Middle Eastern countries and beyond in recent days.

Jordanian government spokesman Mohamed Momani told reporters on Sunday that Amman "sides with the will of the brotherly Syrian people," stressing the close ties between the two nations.

Momani said the kingdom would like to see security and stability restored in Syria and supported "the unity of its territories."

Stability in war-torn Syria was in Jordan's interests, Momani said, and would "ensure security on its borders."

Some Syrians who had fled the war since 2011 and sought refuge in Jordan have begun returning home, according to Jordanian authorities.

The interior ministry said on Thursday that more than 7,000 Syrians had left, out of some 1.3 million refugees Amman says it has hosted.

According to the United Nations, 680,000 Syrian refugees were registered with it in Jordan.

Safadi said Jordan would "provide all means of support to Syrian refugees," Al-Mamlaka reported, and stressed that "their return to their country must be voluntary."

Jordan, in recent years, has tightened border controls in a crackdown on drug and weapon smuggling along its 375-kilometre (230-mile) border with Syria.

One of the main drugs smuggled is the amphetamine-like stimulant Captagon, for which there is a huge demand in the oil-rich Gulf.

AFP