by Hani Hazaimeh | Agencies JORDAN TIMES

AMMAN — Jordan on Tuesday stressed that it “has not suggested or demanded the international community to establish a buffer or no-fly zone in south Syria”.

His Majesty King Abdullah meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi in Amman on Tuesday (Photo by Yousef Allan)

Salehi was on a rare visit to Amman, during which he delivered a letter to His Majesty King Abdullah from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the Monarch received the Iranian top diplomat, a Royal Court statement said.

The King and Salehi discussed “Middle East developments, with focus on the latest in Syria,” in addition to bilateral ties, according to the statement, which did not elaborate.

The Jordan New Agency, Petra, quoted Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour as telling the Iranian official in a separate meeting that the Kingdom is “most concerned” about Syria and is the most affected by the turmoil in the country, as it currently hosts around 1.25 million Syrians (including around half-a-million refugees), who make up around 20 per cent of the population and add to the burdens shouldered by the Kingdom “which already suffers from scarce resources”.

Ensour also noted that despite Jordan being forced to go to the UN Security Council seeking action on the refugee crisis, the government has never requested the establishment of a buffer zone or a non-fly zone in southern Syria.

The premier also renewed Jordan’s call for finding a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis and the Palestinian question, underlying Jordan’s keenness on achieving stability and security in the region, especially in the Arab Gulf states.

The Iranian official also met with Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh.

At a joint press conference after their discussions, Judeh described the talks as “comprehensive and open”, stressing that Jordan’s position on the Syrian conflict is clear: seeking to secure a peaceful solution that will end the bloodshed and guarantees Syria’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and the safety of its people.

“Jordan believes in an open dialogue policy as the best way to address conflict…. The meeting was an opportunity to stress the importance of dialogue to end the crisis in Syria and the importance for all parties to engage in a transitional political phase with the participation of all components of the Syrian people,” Judeh added.

For his part, Iranian minister warned that “the region will not be safe if a political vacuum occurs in Syria,” after the fall of President Bashar Assad’s regime.

He added: “We support a peaceful political resolution to the Syrian crisis provided that this option is adopted by the Syrian people and not imposed from outside. There is a peaceful opposition in Syria, with whom we are in contact with. We have encouraged them to engage in direct talks with the Syrian government so as to reach an end to the conflict.”

“We have seen what happened in countries where third parties intervened. We don’t want the same scenario to reoccur,” Salehi said.

Judeh denied there was any major international military build-up in the country. “There are no foreign troops across Jordanian territory. There are training programmes with friendly countries and this is continuing,” he said.

He reiterated that the Kingdom is not facilitating the entry of arms and fighters into the northern neighbour.

“Over the past years the armed forces have foiled several attempts by infiltrators who tried to enter into the Syrian territories through Jordan,” Judeh said.

On the refugee challenge, Salehi said: “We understand the burden neighbouring countries have been enduring due to the influx of refugees. We are ready to assist Jordan as much as we can to alleviate the burden on hosting thousands of the Syrian people,” he added.

The two sides also discussed the Palestinian issue, with Judeh reiterating that it remains the central issue in the region, adding that King Abdullah expressed Jordan’s position with regards to the peace process and the importance of addressing final status issues including security, water and the refugee issues to the Iranian official.

“The discussions were open and frank. As for the Palestinian issue, Iran hopes to see an end to the conflict that secures the return of the Palestinian refugees to their homeland and ensures the establishment of a Palestinian state on Palestinian national soil… Jordan seeks the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, with pre-1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital,“ Judeh said.

Salehi described political ties between the two countries as “strong”. He noted that it is natural that the views of the two countries differ on various issues, stating that it is natural considering the polarising events that have swept across the region over the last two years.

With regards to the Iranian nuclear file, Judeh said this issue is worrying to Jordan, adding that he discussed Iranian nuclear plans with Salehi, stressing the need for addressing this issue through proper diplomatic channels in order to eliminate any chances of an arms race and escalation of regional instability.

Citing the situation in Bahrain and the issue of the two UAE islands in the Gulf, Judeh said that Jordan, as part of the Arab nation, strongly opposes any external interference in the internal affairs of Arab countries, particularly the Gulf states, which might undermine the security of the GCC region.

Judeh criticised statements made by some Iranian officials attacking Jordanian policies towards the Syrian crisis and the Palestinian cause. In response, Salehi said the official Iranian narrative is only expressed by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, Ahmadinejad or the foreign minister, adding that statements made by any other Iranian party do not represent Iranian official stands.

The two officials made no direct reference to two waves of Israeli air strikes staged against Syria over the weekend, targeting what Tel Aviv said were Iranian missiles intended for Lebanese Hizbollah fighters, who back Assad against the rebels and fought a 34-day war with Israel in 2006.

The last visit by an Iranian official to Jordan was in January, when Salehi’s deputy, Hossein Amir-Abdollahien held talks in Amman over the Syrian crisis. Whilst he is in the capital, Salehi was due to open the new building of the Iranian embassy in Amman.

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