AMMAN – Syria committed on Monday to prohibit drug trafficking across its borders with Jordan and Iraq, as well as to identify those involved in drug production and transportation.
The pledge was made at a historic meeting of foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan in Amman, which also included Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad.
The meeting’s goal was to discuss ways to normalize relations with Syria as part of a political settlement to the country’s 13-year civil conflict, which has devastated and divided it.
According to the meeting’s final statement, the ministers discussed avenues for the voluntary repatriation of millions of displaced Syrians as well as concerted measures to combat drug trafficking.
It stated that Damascus had pledged to “take the necessary steps to end smuggling on the borders with Jordan and Iraq” and to identify those who were producing and trafficking narcotics into those two countries.
Arab states and the West accuse Syria of creating the extremely addictive and lucrative amphetamine Captagon and orchestrating its smuggling into the Gulf.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi described the meeting as “a start, and the process is ongoing” to bring the crisis to an end.
“There must be steps taken on the ground that lead to an improvement in the reality in which Syria and Syrians live,” he said. Syria’s readmission to the Arab League would be decided by the organization itself, according to Safadi.
Jordan has encouraged Syria to work with Arab governments on a step-by-step plan to resolve the crisis, addressing concerns such as refugees, detainees, drug smuggling, and Iran-backed militias in Syria.
“There was clarity and honesty,” Safadi said of the Amman talks, adding that “we agreed on mechanisms to start organizing their (the refugees’) safe and voluntary return, in coordination with the United Nations.”