Reports speak about a document prepared by Jordan's king Abdullah II and already discussed with presidents Joe Biden, Vladimir Putin and other Arab and foreign leaders. It does not include a timetable and emphasizes the steps taken by Arab countries for normalizing ties with Damascus, after foreign forces and fighters exit from Syria. It comes after Syrian foreign minister meetings with nine Arab ministers in New York, official Jordanian-Syrian visits, contacts between Arab leaders and president Bashar Al Assad, and a recent Assad's meeting with UAE foreign minister in Damascus.
In an interview with CNN, Jordan foreign minister, Ayman Al Safadi, stated that a political solution is still needed in Syria, and Jordan is in talks with president Bashar Al Assad for "failing to see an effective strategy for resolving the Syrian conflict". Jordan has suffered gravely because of the Syrian civil war and the Hashemite Kingdom hosts 1.3 million Syrian refugees, without a global support.
While the document natters that there is no comprehensive strategy for a clear political in Syria, it also points out that "there is no military end to the Syrian crisis and the current approach to deal with it has proven a costly failure".
According to the last UN statistics, 6 million Syrian citizens are in extreme need, 12.4 million are suffering from food insecurity and more than 80% of Syrians are living below the poverty line.
The terrorist group ISIS has been defeated but not completely eradicated, and its members are trying to restore their ranks and re-emerging in the southwest of Syria, from where they have been expelled. Other terrorist organizations continue to operate in different parts of Syria, taking advantage of the lack of security measures.
The Jordanian document mentions five major steps to move forward:
- developing a phased approach to a political solution, based on UN Security Council Resolution 2254;
- gathering needed support from like-minded regional and international partners;
- seeking to agree on this approach with Russia;
- deciding on a mechanism to engage the Syrian regime;
- a step-by-step approach for all partners and allies to encourage positive behaviour and leverage collective influence;
The measures provides incentives to the Syrian regime in exchange for it taking desired political changes that will directly impact the Syrian people.