Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi is currently visiting the Qatari capital, Doha, where he will engage in discussions on various topics, notably the Syrian situation.
Safadi’s visit to Qatar commenced on Sunday, during which he held meetings with his Qatari counterpart, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, as well as other Qatari officials.
Prior to his visit to Qatar, Safadi had travelled to Damascus two weeks ago, where he met with President Bashar al-Assad and other government officials. Subsequently, he visited Turkey, where he held meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
Safadi’s tour comes a month and a half after the Amman consultative meeting and the subsequent Arab actions regarding the Syrian regime. The focus of his tour is Jordan’s “Arab initiative” for resolving the Syrian crisis, which adopts a step-by-step approach.
During his meeting with Qatar’s foreign minister on Sunday, Safadi discussed this approach, emphasizing its alignment with Security Council resolution 2254. They also addressed the importance of implementing the “Amman Message” and taking practical measures to address the humanitarian, security, and political consequences of the Syrian conflict. Additionally, they discussed finding a resolution for the Syrian refugee crisis and combating drug smuggling from Syria to neighbouring countries.
Most Arab countries, except for Qatar and Kuwait, have taken steps to normalize relations with the Syrian regime following a collective Arab decision to reinstate Syria’s membership in the Arab League. However, Qatar maintains that its concerns lie not with Syria as a country, but with the ruling regime.
The Qatari foreign minister, in his initial comments after the Syrian regime’s return to the Arab League, acknowledged that each country has the sovereign right to determine its approach toward normalizing bilateral relations.
Previously, Safadi has highlighted the “significant challenges” facing the Arab initiative. The success of the step-by-step approach is contingent upon the Syrian regime’s level of cooperation and compliance.
Arab capitals maintain that their engagement with the Syrian regime is based on a step-by-step framework. However, the Syrian regime, as stated by Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, denies adopting this approach and instead emphasizes the need to take necessary measures to achieve a resolution in Syria.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
