Syrian Foreign Minister, Faisal Mekdad, conducted talks with his Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Safadi, ahead of the preparatory meetings for the Arab League summit in Manama.

A statement from the Jordanian Foreign Ministry, via “X”, mentioned that the ministers discussed the efforts made to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis that preserves Syria and its cohesion, achieves the aspirations of its people, respects its sovereignty, rids it of terrorism, and provides the necessary conditions for the “voluntary return” of Syrian refugees to their country.

Both sides also emphasized the importance of the role of the Arab Ministerial Liaison Committee concerned with Syria, as part of the efforts in the Arab track.

For his part, the Jordanian minister stressed the necessity of reaching a political solution to the Syrian crisis according to a “step-by-step” approach, in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution “2254”, and addressing all the humanitarian, security, and political repercussions of the crisis.

According to the ministry’s statement, the ministers also discussed bilateral issues, including border security and combating drug smuggling, with a review of the results of contacts being conducted by relevant authorities in both countries to halt smuggling operations and combat the danger they pose.

The Syrian official news agency (SANA) reported the meeting between Mekdad and Safadi, omitting any mention of Resolution “2254”, the return of refugees, and combating drugs.

Yesterday, Monday, Mekdad arrived in Manama to participate in the preparatory meetings for the summit, which takes place at the ministerial level today, Tuesday, and the Arab League is scheduled to hold its summit at its 33rd regular session on May 16.

Moreover, last Sunday, the meetings of the economic and social council at the ministerial level began, in preparation for the summit agenda.

On May 11, the preparatory activities for the Arab summit scheduled in Manama began with a meeting of senior officials of the economic and social council, with the participation of a delegation from the Syrian regime, a year after it regained Syria’s seat in the Arab League.

The president of the Syrian regime, Bashar al-Assad, on March 26, received a written message from the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, which included a formal invitation to participate in the summit, delivered by the Bahraini ambassador in Damascus, Waheed Mubarak Sayyar.

The Manama Summit will be the second regular session Arab summit in which Bashar al-Assad has participated since 2010 (he participated then in the Sirte summit in Libya), after his participation in the summit held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on May 19, 2023.

This will also be the third summit for al-Assad since 2010, after the Arab-Islamic summit on November 11, 2023, which focused on developments in the Gaza Strip, merging the Arab and Islamic summits, coordinated with the Arab League on one hand, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on the other.