Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit Jordan in the next few days to discuss Syria, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al Safadi said.
The visit comes as the kingdom deals with a major security threat on its border with areas controlled by the government of President Bashar Al Assad.
Mr Al Safadi, who is in Algeria for an Arab League Summit, told Sky News Arabia on Monday that the visit by Mr Lavrov will focus on “the Syria file”.
Jordan said the Syrian military and pro-Iranian militias are linked to drug traffic from southern Syria to Jordan and pose a national security threat to the kingdom.
In 2018, Syrian government forces captured most of the area on the Syrian side from rebel brigades after a deal between Russia, the US and Israel that was supposed to guarantee Jordan's border security.
Security officials in the region said the drug-smuggling, particularly the stimulant pills known as Captagon, increased sharply in the past four years, as the cost of production in Syria fell and as pro-Iranian militias linked with the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah expanded in areas near the border with Jordan.
Last year, Russia brokered a rapprochement between Jordan and Syria. It culminated in a phone call in October 2021 between King Abdullah and Mr Al Assad, during which diplomats in Amman said the king raised the drug-smuggling issue.
Russia is the most powerful backer of the government in Damascus. Its intervention in 2015 turned the tide of the Syrian conflict in favour of Mr Al Assad.
Jordan, an ally of the US, tacitly supported the Russian intervention and has since strengthened its security and other contacts with Moscow.
Honeymoonish
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MATCH INFO
Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Son 1', Kane 8' & 16') West Ham United 3 (Balbuena 82', Sanchez og 85', Lanzini 90' 4)
Man of the match Harry Kane
The stats
Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
Ain Issa camp:
- Established in 2016
- Houses 13,309 people, 2,092 families, 62 per cent children
- Of the adult population, 49 per cent men, 51 per cent women (not including foreigners annexe)
- Most from Deir Ezzor and Raqqa
- 950 foreigners linked to ISIS and their families
- NGO Blumont runs camp management for the UN
- One of the nine official (UN recognised) camps in the region
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Avengers: Endgame
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin
4/5 stars
The five pillars of Islam
SQUADS
Bangladesh (from): Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Mahmudullah Riyad, Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das, Taijul Islam, Mosaddek Hossain, Nayeem Hasan, Mehedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadat Hossain, Abu Jayed
Afghanistan (from): Rashid Khan (capt), Ihsanullah Janat, Javid Ahmadi, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Ikram Alikhil, Mohammad Nabi, Qais Ahmad, Sayed Ahmad Shirzad, Yamin Ahmadzai, Zahir Khan Pakteen, Afsar Zazai, Shapoor Zadran
