Jordan offers Syria support in meeting with new leader

Jordan stands ready to help Syria rebuild, its foreign minister said after meeting Syria's new ruler Ahmed Al Sharaa in Damascus on Monday, the highest-level contact by an Arab state with Syria's new Islamist-led administration.

Qatar's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Al Khulaifi also arrived in Damascus on Monday for meetings aboard the first Qatar Airways flight to land in the Syrian capital since former President Bashar Al Assad was toppled, the Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on X.

The meetings further widen the diplomatic contacts of the new administration established after Sharaa's Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS) group, led a decisive rebel offensive that overthrew Assad after more than 13 years of war.

Ahmed al-Sharaa receives Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz Al Khulaifi in Damascus on Monday. AFP

Turkey, which long backed the Syrian opposition, was the first state to send its foreign minister to Damascus.

Sharaa wore a suit and tie during the meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al Safadi, photos posted on social media by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry showed.

"Our talks were clear that we in the Kingdom are ready to provide support," he said after the meeting, adding that the new Syrian administration must have the opportunity to develop its plans. "I focused on reconstruction efforts and Jordan will provide aid," Safadi added.

Syria's stability is a key security concern for Jordan, a U.S. allied Arab state which borders the country to the south.

Safadi said he agreed with Sharaa on cooperating to counter the smuggling of drugs and weapons from Syria to Jordan — a problem for years under Assad.

Safadi also noted that Islamic State, with which Sharaa's group clashed earlier in the Syrian war, remained a threat.

"Our brothers in Syria also realise that this is a threat. God willing, we will all cooperate, not just Jordan and Syria, but all Arab countries and the international community, in fighting this scourge that poses a threat to everyone," he said.

There was no immediate statement from the Syrian side on the meeting.

Reuters