Jordan is not responsible for Rukban camp — FM

AMMAN — Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi on Saturday said that dwellers of the Rukban refugee camp just across the border with Syria are Syrians on Syrian soil that are not the responsibility of Jordan. 

He said the Kingdom had funnelled humanitarian aid to these people through its territories when there was no other option.

Safadi made his remarks during his participation at the forum organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) on stability and reconstruction, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The top diplomat added that the road to Rukban camp is now accessible from the Syrian territories and that the aid could reach it from inside Syria, stressing that meeting the needs of the camp community is a responsibility-shared by the UN and Syria.

Safadi said that building a secure and stable future in the region requires addressing the root causes of tension, which were outlined in His Majesty King Abdullah’s speech at the opening of the Manama security summit on Friday, which the minister delivered on behalf of the King. 

He said that His Majesty’s address entailed an “integrated vision to build a safe, conflict-free and peaceful future that provides opportunities for achievement and excellence, especially for young people”.

He said that His Majesty also presented a roadmap containing practical steps to move towards this future, based on political solutions to the conflicts of the region, foremost of which is the Palestinian-Israeli conflict based on the two-state solution that guarantees the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within June 4, 1967 lines and with East Jerusalem as its capital.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Safadi met with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and US Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition against the ISIS Terror Group Brett McGurk, stressing in the talks that peace can only be achieved by meeting the requirements of peace which include justice for Palestinians and ensuring their legitimate rights to freedom and an independent state.

The minister said that the Arab world had already stressed its commitment to peace in the Arab Peace Initiative, which offers comprehensive peace in return for Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories.

On Syria, Safadi pointed to the failure of the approaches adopted over the years to the Syrian crisis in achieving a political solution, calling for new approaches that reflect the facts on the ground and protect the interests of Syrians. 

He said that Syria has become the arena for the conflicts of others and that the new solutions must be based on the will to achieve the interests of Syria and the Syrians, stressing the need to work out a political solution that preserves the country’s unity and territorial integrity and one that is accepted by all Syrians.

On the sidelines of the forum, Safadi also met with Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia Adel Jubeir and Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit to discuss bilateral ties and regional developments.