Jordan, Russia say ‘no military solution in Syria

Minister of Foreign and Expatriates Affairs Ayman Safadi and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov Saturday held talks in Moscow, and said there is no military solution to the Syrian crisis, urging stepped up efforts to reach a political solution acceptable to the Syrian people.

The ministers also said Amman and Moscow are keen to continually develop their relations upon the directives of His Majesty King Abdullah and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Safadi said Jordan wants a political solution in Syria that safeguards the country’s unity, territorial integrity and its independent decision, and ensures that it is free of terrorist organisations and sectarian militias.

He said a ceasefire over all of Syria is a priority that every possible effort should be exerted to achieve, as a first step to find a political solution based on the Geneva1 understandings and UN Security Council resolution 2254, “which lead to a political situation acceptable to the brotherly people of Syria”.

Safadi also stressed the importance of the Astana negotiations, in which Jordan is participating as observer, to reach a comprehensive ceasefire and inject the required momentum to arrive at a political agreement within the framework of the Geneva talks. Such a solution, he said, requires the engagement of and coordination between the United States and Russia to come up with effective and practical steps to achieve that goal.

The two ministers also stressed the need to create a political horizon to move toward a political solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict based on the two-state solution that guarantees freedom and statehood for the Palestinians and security for Israel.

Safadi said a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is the condition to achieve regional peace and security, noting that such peace that fulfils the Palestinians’ right to set up an independent state along June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, is a strategic Arab choice that was underlined by the recent Amman summit, which relaunched the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, as the most comprehensive proposal to bring about lasting peace.

Also on the agenda of the Moscow talks were steps by Jordan and Russia to increase economic cooperation, particularly in the trade, energy, education and infrastructure fields.

Lavrov lauded Jordan’s role in achieving regional peace and stability and fighting terrorism, and both ministers were unanimous on the importance of intensifying all efforts to eliminate terrorism, which is a common threat to regional and international peace and security.