Jordan Prime Minister denies secret communications with Syria regime

The Prime Minister of Jordan has denied that his country has opened secret channels of communication with the Syrian regime, amid a recent reconciliation between the two countries.

Speaking to the news outlet, Ammon News, on Tuesday, Jordanian Prime Minister, Bisher Al-Khasawneh, denied reports that envoys were sent between Amman and Damascus in efforts to secretly communicate with each other.

“I do not know about the presence of a Jordanian envoy to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, and I do not think that there is an envoy,” Al-Khasawneh said. Despite that, he maintained that Jordan’s current interaction with Syria was “positive”.

He also said that Jordan is only “interested in restoring security and safety” on its borders and in the region, and insisted that Jordan does not aim to interfere in Syria’s internal affairs. “Therefore, security and military coordination continue between the two countries, especially in light of attempts to smuggle drugs and terrorists, sometimes.”

The Prime Minister’s comments come amid Amman’s recent steps towards the normalisation of ties with Damascus following a decade of the ongoing Syrian civil war, in which countries in the region boycotted and cut ties with the Assad regime after its brutal crackdown on peaceful protestors.

In September, Jordan fully reopened its main border crossing with Syria and the flagship airline, Royal Jordanian, announced the restarting of direct flights to Damascus. The following month, Jordanian King Abdullah II then spoke on the phone with Assad. Since 2019, Amman also joined efforts to support Damascus’s return to the Arab League.

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