Jordan hosted a regional summit attended by the foreign ministers of Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Iraq, aimed at reaching a political solution for the region’s relations with Damascus. The landmark summit marks the Syrian government’s first meeting with groups of Arab countries since Syria’s removal from the Arab League in 2011.
“It is time we try to restore stability and growth to Syria, and placing its economic resources to serve the country and its people,” said Hussein in his remarks at the meeting, “despite the obstacles and difficulties that this task encounters, the most important thing is reaching a real beginning, after that we can talk about review and reform.”
Hussein congratulated the Arab countries’ recent attempts at thawing relations with Syria and providing a helping hand to its struggling population, stressing that the country has a hill to climb and needs more support.
The Iraqi foreign minister referred to the Arab countries’ restoration of diplomatic ties with Syria as a “brave step,” believing that the recent changes will have a positive impact on the stability and security of the region.
Prior to the start of the meeting, Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi held a meeting with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad, discussing various issues including border security and refugees, according to a statement from the Jordan foreign ministry.
Arab nations broke off relations with Syria over Damascus’ crackdown on protests that grew into a civil war in 2011. Gulf countries, with Saudi Arabia in particular, supported the rebels while Riyadh’s regional rival, Iran, backed Assad.
February’s disastrous earthquake, which rocked both Syria and Turkey killing tens of thousands, was a catalyst for Arab efforts towards normalizing relations with Assad, led by Saudi Arabia.
Hampered by sanctions, global aid was slow to reach quake-hit Syria, compared to neighboring Turkey. Prior to the earthquakes, just one border crossing between Turkey and northwest Syria was open to humanitarian aid. The Syrian government said it would approve delivery of aid to rebel-held areas and the United States paused some sanctions for six months in order to not impede humanitarian access.
.JPG&w=3840&q=75)