Jordan determined to eliminate drug smuggling from Syria, ready to coordinate with Damascus

AMMAN — Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that smuggling of drugs and arms from Syria to Jordan undermines national security, reiterating the Kingdom’s determination to eliminate the “danger and its backers”.

In a statement on Tuesday, the ministry’s spokesperson Sufian Qudah said that Jordan has provided Syria during meetings of the joint committee with names of smugglers and the parties supporting them and the regions, where drugs are manufactured and stored, but “no concrete action has been taken to neutralise the danger”.

He also said that drug smuggling attempts from Syria have increased significantly, voicing the Kingdom’s readiness to coordinate with the Syrian government to stop smuggling operations and bring to justice smugglers and their backers. 

“Jordan is firm in combating and completely eliminating drug smuggling,” the spokesperson said. 

He said that Jordan, which hosts more than 1.3 million Syrians, is keen on the security of Syria and the safety of its brotherly people, especially in the bordering provinces of Daraa and Suwayda.

The spokesperson also voiced the Kingdom’s rejection of claims about the Jordanian borders with Syria being “source of threat to Syria or passage for terrorists” into the northern neighbour.

“Jordan will be always supporting Syria and its people in Daraa, Suwayda, and elsewhere across the northern neighbour.” 

He also underlined Jordan’s continued efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis through a political solution that safeguards Syria’s security and territorial unity.