Jordan expects Astana talks to lead to the Syrian crisis settlement

(Amman) “The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is concerned about the recent developments in Syria especially in southern parts of the country, which is close to Jordan,” a senior Jordanian official told Geostrategic Media.

He added that the upcoming Astana conference on Syria will be including Saudi Arabia and the USA, where final touches of the Syrian crisis will be reviewed.

“We are monitoring the developments at the Yarmouk River Basin which is just hundreds of meters away from our borders,” he said.

“The Kingdom cannot open its border crossings with Syria as long as there are no Syrian forces on the other side of the borders. We seek a safe road to Damascus. These are the constraints and once the Syrian army is in control of the borders, there will be talks about reopening them with no limits.” said another Jordanian military official.

He added: “In spite of all that is going on in Syria, Jordan has maintained its diplomatic ties with the Syrian government and there is constant communication between our officers and Syrian officers.”

It is noted that the frequent visits of some Jordanian political parties and activists during the past 6 years was a sign that Jordan is keeping the door wide open for further talks with the Syrian government.

The recent meeting of the heads of both the Syrian and Jordanian parliaments in St. Petersburg in Russia give two major signals, said the Jordanian official. “The first is that Jordan is seeking to convey a message to the Syrian government that Amman has no interest to fight against Damascus and that Jordan would not open the border until the Syrian army regained control of the crossings.”

These statements from the Jordanian officials, who are important partners in negotiations between US and Russia on the Syrian issue, are a clear indicator that the conflicting sides are approaching a point of agreement on Syrian settlement. Various other diplomatic sources also gave indications that all major parties are interested in seeing Syrian armed conflict end by December