Jordan’s Foreign Minister Visits Syria in First Trip Since War

An aerial view shows people walking near collapsed buildings following last week's earthquake in Syria's opposition-held village of Atarib, in the northwestern Aleppo province, on February 14, 2023. (AFP)
An aerial view shows people walking near collapsed buildings following last week's earthquake in Syria's opposition-held village of Atarib, in the northwestern Aleppo province, on February 14, 2023. (AFP)
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Jordan’s Foreign Minister Visits Syria in First Trip Since War

An aerial view shows people walking near collapsed buildings following last week's earthquake in Syria's opposition-held village of Atarib, in the northwestern Aleppo province, on February 14, 2023. (AFP)
An aerial view shows people walking near collapsed buildings following last week's earthquake in Syria's opposition-held village of Atarib, in the northwestern Aleppo province, on February 14, 2023. (AFP)

Jordan's foreign minister Ayman Safadi arrived in Damascus on Wednesday in the first such visit since the Syrian conflict and will later head to Türkiye to show "solidarity" after the quake, an official source said.

The visit will focus on humanitarian needs and how Jordan, a neighbor that hosts tens of thousands of Syrian refugees, can help in ongoing relief operations, the source said.

"Safadi will discuss the humanitarian and aid needs that the two countries need," a statement from the foreign ministry said, adding that aid planes will fly to both countries on Wednesday.

Jordan has sent large shipments of aid to both countries with the kingdom sending a medical hospital to Türkiye and organizing several large flights and aid convoys through the country's northern border crossing with Syria.

Relations between the neighbors have been strained in recent years.

Jordan has criticized Damascus for failing to curb multi-billion-dollar drug smuggling operations through its borders that Amman blames on Iranian-backed militias who hold sway in southern Syria.



France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
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France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)

Paris declined to comment on Algeria’s “strong condemnation” of the French government’s decision to recognize Morocco’s claim over the Sahara.

The office of the French Foreign Ministry refused to respond to an AFP request for a comment on the Algeria’s stance.

It did say that further comments could impact the trip Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is set to make to France in late September or early October.

The visit has been postponed on numerous occasions over disagreements between the two countries.

France had explicitly expressed its constant and clear support for the autonomy rule proposal over the Sahara during Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s visit to Morocco in February, reported AFP.

The position has helped improve ties between Rabat and Paris.

On Thursday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry expressed “great regret and strong denunciation" about the French government's decision to recognize an autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region "within Moroccan sovereignty”.

Algeria was informed of the decision by France in recent days, an Algerian foreign ministry statement added.

The ministry also said Algeria would draw all the consequences from the decision and hold the French government alone completely responsible.