Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi arrived on an official unannounced visit to Damascus on Sunday.
He held talks with President Bashar al-Assad, delivering a verbal message from King Abdullah II on the “current dangerous developments in the region,” said an official Syrian statement.
The message was related to several bilateral and regional affairs, as well as the Syrian crisis, it added.
Assad and Safadi also discussed bilateral ties between their countries and the return of Syrian refugees back to their home country.
Assad stressed that providing the conditions for the safe return was a “priority for the Syrian state,” added the statement. Syria has made strides in this regard, it stressed.
Jordan is doing everything in its power to return the refugees home, Safadi was quoted as saying. Amman supports Syria’s stability and recovery given its importance to the region.
Safadi also held talks with his Syrian counterpart Bassam al-Sabbagh.
Informed sources in Damascus told Asharq Al-Awsat that the surprise visit means Safadi was in Syria to discuss the escalation in the region and the “Arab role Damascus is expected to play to avert the expansion of the war.”
He was also seeking to overcome the impasse in reaching a political solution to the crisis in Syria, they remarked.
Moreover, they noted the drugs and arms smuggling from Syria to Jordan that has been a major cause for concern in the kingdom.
Iran-backed militias in Syria are accused of being behind the smuggling.
Amman has been urging Damascus to intensify its efforts to combat the illicit activity, which has decreased, but not stopped, despite increased efforts.
The sources said Safadi likely discussed this issue in Syria given that Israel has struck smuggling routes between Syria and Lebanon.
Earlier this month, the Jordanian military announced that it had thwarted a drug smuggling attempt through the use of a drone.
The army has been firmly combating the smuggling, resorting to force on occasion.
