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Jordan, Syria leaders agree to bolster border security

King Abdullah II (R) and Crown Prince Hussein (back) accompany visiting Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, in Amman, on February 26, 2025. (AFP)
King Abdullah II (R) and Crown Prince Hussein (back) accompany visiting Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, in Amman, on February 26, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 26 February 2025

Jordan, Syria leaders agree to bolster border security

King Abdullah II (R) and Crown Prince Hussein (back) accompany visiting Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, in Amman.
  • At a meeting with Sharaa in Amman, the Jordanian monarch also condemned Israel’s strikes late on Tuesday on southern Damascus and in southern Syria

AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdullah and Syria’s President Ahmed Al-Sharaa agreed on Wednesday to work together to secure their common border against arms and drug trafficking, officials said.
At a meeting with Sharaa in Amman, the Jordanian monarch also condemned Israel’s strikes late on Tuesday on southern Damascus and in southern Syria near the Jordan border, the latest in a series of Israeli attacks on Syrian military targets.
The leaders agreed that coordination was crucial for border security and for curbing arms and drug smuggling, a phenomenon that Jordan struggled to contain along its border during the rule of ousted president Bashar Assad, the palace added.
Jordan has blamed the rampant drug and weapons smuggling on pro-Iranian militias that held sway in southern Syria during Assad’s time. Sharaa pledged to stamp it out.
The visit is the new interim leader’s third foreign trip along with ֱ and Turkiye since he came to power after leading the offensive that ousted Iran-backed Assad.
Assad’s relationships with most of the Arab world and his neighbors were strained throughout the nearly 14-year Syrian war.
Jordan, which hosted the first international conference on Syria a week after Assad was forced to flee, wants to see a peaceful political transition in Syria, fearing a return of chaos and instability along its borders.
The monarch welcomed the outcome of a landmark national dialogue conference held at the presidential palace in Damascus on Tuesday, saying it was “an important step toward rebuilding Syria to attain the aspirations of the Syrian people.”
Jordanian officials have said they were ready to help Syria rebuild and promised to help it ease its acute power shortages by supplying it with electricity and gas.


Trump to meet Syrian president at White House on Nov. 10

Trump to meet Syrian president at White House on Nov. 10
Updated 52 min 4 sec ago

Trump to meet Syrian president at White House on Nov. 10

Trump to meet Syrian president at White House on Nov. 10
  • Press secretary Karoline Leavitt says there has been 'good progress' in Syria since Trump lifted sanctions

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump plans to meet with Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa at the White House on Monday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday at a press briefing.
Since seizing power from Bashar Assad last December, Al-Sharaa has made a series of foreign trips as his transitional government seeks to re-establish Syria’s ties with world powers that had shunned Damascus during Assad’s rule.
Trump has sought good relations with Al-Sharaa. In June he revoked most US sanctions against Syria, and Trump met with the Syrian leader when he visited ֱ last May.
“When the president was in the Middle East, he made the historic decision to lift sanctions on Syria to give them a real chance at peace and I think the administration, we’ve seen good progress on that front under their new leadership,” she said.