Jordanian foreign minister to visit Damascus as Syria faces political shift

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi is set to visit Damascus on December 23, marking the first trip by a senior Jordanian official since the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government.

According to the Jordanian Foreign Ministry, Safadi will meet with Syria's new leadership, including the recently appointed commander-in-chief, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, as well as several other Syrian officials, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

The visit comes after Jordan hosted a summit earlier this month, attended by top diplomats from the Arab world, Türkiye, the European Union, and the United States. At the summit, participants emphasized the importance of a peaceful and inclusive transition in Syria after years of civil war.

Al-Sharaa, leader of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the offensive that brought down the Assad regime on December 8, has been meeting with senior officials from across the Middle East and beyond in recent days. His group’s pivotal role in Syria’s ongoing transformation highlights the shifting political dynamics in the region.

In a statement on December 22, Jordanian government spokesman Mohamed Momani reiterated Jordan’s support for Syria’s territorial integrity and its desire for stability in the war-torn nation. “Jordan sides with the will of the brotherly Syrian people,” said Momani, emphasizing the close historical ties between the two countries. He added that stability in Syria was crucial to ensuring security on Jordan's borders, which have been affected by the ongoing conflict.

As part of a broader regional shift, some Syrians who fled the war and sought refuge in Jordan have begun to return home. The Jordanian Interior Ministry reported on December 19 that more than 7,000 Syrians had returned, out of approximately 1.3 million refugees hosted by Jordan. The United Nations has registered around 680,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan.

By Vafa Guliyeva