![Syrian refugee patients from the makeshift Rukban camp, which lies in no-man's-land off the border between Syria and Jordan in the remote northeast, cross over to visit a UN-operated medical clinic immediately on the Jordanian-side for checkups, on March 1, 2017. [KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP/Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/GettyImages-647115246.jpg?fit=1024%2C767&ssl=1)
Jordan will not allow aid for refugees in Syria to pass through the Hashemite Kingdom, Foreign Minister Ayman Al-Safadi has said. Al-Safadi made this clear on Twitter yesterday.
The UN Special Envoy to Syria, Geir Pederson, was told by the minister that assistance intended for Al-Rukban refugee camp in the Syrian Desert “must go through Syria.” He pointed out that sending assistance to the refugees is the responsibility of the UN and Syria, and Jordan would not be involved as a precaution against the spread of coronavirus Covid-19.
Al-Safadi’s statement was issued by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry in Amman. It confirmed that it would never allow any refugee from the aforementioned camp to enter Jordan, and stressed that “protecting Jordanians from the coronavirus is the first priority” of the government.
Nevertheless, the Foreign Minister reassured Pederson that the Kingdom will continue to support efforts to find a political solution for the Syrian issue.