Jordan’s King Abdullah met Russian President Vladimir Putin near Moscow on Monday to discuss the situation in Syria and the impact of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The Jordanian monarch is the first Arab leader to meet Mr Putin since the Taliban overran Kabul last week, solidifying their control over most of the country.
The chaotic US withdrawal, which is in its final stages, is raising concerns in the Middle East over American reliability.
Mr Putin said "the normalisation of the situation in Syria and the current escalation in Afghanistan" were "the most pressing maters" on the agenda.
The Russian leader showed King Abdullah some of the military hardware exhibited at Patriot Park in Kubnika, 60 kilometres south-west of Moscow.
Mr Putin said the weaponry was "important in terms of strengthening stability".
The US supplies most of the Jordanian military and the kingdom is a major recipient of US aid.
Russia, however, is a major wheat exporter to Jordan and Mr Putin touted the work of a Jordanian-Russian committee headed on the Russian side by Minister of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev.
The king has sought to improve security and economic ties with Moscow in recent years, and partly accommodated Russia on Syria.
Last month, the king told CNN the world should be “sympathetic” to the US decision to withdraw from Afghanistan but that such a decision could lead to a resurgence in terrorism in the country in a few years.
Pro-Iranian militant groups in the Middle East, particularly Hezbollah, have publicly celebrated the US withdrawal. They say it demonstrates the futility of having the US as an ally.
King Abdullah has met Mr Putin more than a dozen times since he became monarch in 1999.
Security contacts between Jordan and Russia increased after Moscow’s military intervention in Syria in 2015.
Russian firepower propped up the Assad regime, allowing it and Iranian-backed militias to capture most territory held by opposition forces.
Moscow sent troops to Syria’s southern border with Jordan, where Jordanian officials say Hezbollah and other pro-Iranian militias are active.
The Kremlin has made it clear it wants Jordan and other Arab countries to normalise relations with the regime of Bashar Al Assad and re-admit Syria to the Arab League. It also wants Arab and western countries to pay for reconstruction in the country.
The Arab League suspended relations with Damascus in November 2011, soon after the regime cracked down on the uprising against five decades of Assad family rule.
King Abdullah has sought to balance Russian requests with Jordan’s ties with the US.
Last month the king said that the Syrian regime has shown “longevity” but that any reconstruction in Syria would need to be tied to political reform.
In the past few weeks, official Jordanian media have touted the potential benefits of improving transport links and trade with areas of Syria controlled by the Assad regime.
Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have fled to Jordan in the past decade. Only Lebanon and Turkey have more Syrian refugees.
Unlike Lebanon, Jordan has not put pressure on them to return, saying instead that their safety must come first.
MATCH INFO
Newcastle 2-2 Manchester City
Burnley 0-2 Crystal Palace
Chelsea 0-1 West Ham
Liverpool 2-1 Brighton
Tottenham 3-2 Bournemouth
Southampton v Watford (late)
Squads
Sri Lanka Tharanga (c), Mathews, Dickwella (wk), Gunathilaka, Mendis, Kapugedera, Siriwardana, Pushpakumara, Dananjaya, Sandakan, Perera, Hasaranga, Malinga, Chameera, Fernando.
India Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rohit, Rahul, Pandey, Rahane, Jadhav, Dhoni (wk), Pandya, Axar, Kuldeep, Chahal, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, Thakur.
PSL FINAL
Multan Sultans v Peshawar Zalmi
8pm, Thursday
Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
UJDA CHAMAN
Produced: Panorama Studios International
Directed: Abhishek Pathak
Cast: Sunny Singh, Maanvi Gagroo, Grusha Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla
Rating: 3.5 /5 stars
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
2.0
Director: S Shankar
Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films
Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Founder: Ayman Badawi
Date started: Test product September 2016, paid launch January 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software
Size: Seven employees
Funding: $170,000 in angel investment
Funders: friends
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The%20specs
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
