The Jordanian Ministry of Interior announced the return of 12,800 Syrians from Jordan to their homeland since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8 until Sunday evening.

Al-Mamlaka Jordanian channel reported today, Monday, December 23, citing a source in the ministry, that among the returnees, 1,309 Syrians were refugees in Jordan, indicating that the majority of the returnees were not classified as refugees.

The source anticipated more Syrians would return in the coming days, noting that Amman supports voluntary returns, while the Jaber-Nassib crossing is currently the only passage for Syrians to return to their country.

This announcement coincided with the visit of Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi to Syria, where he met with the head of the Military Operations Administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa (Abu Mohammad al-Jolani), in Damascus.

This visit is considered the first by an Arab foreign minister to Damascus since the fall of the Assad regime, following a visit by the Turkish foreign minister on Sunday.

After his meeting with al-Sharaa, al-Safadi stated that Jordan stands by the Syrian people in the stage of rebuilding their homeland and establishing a system in which all Syrians participate in formulating and protecting their rights.

The Jordanian minister regarded the security of Jordan and Syria as interconnected, noting existing challenges, and an agreement was reached to cooperate in addressing these challenges and to provide humanitarian aid to Syria and contribute to rebuilding capacities.

Al-Safadi said, “We carried the message we issued from Aqaba, that this is a historic moment for the Syrian people, and we will stand by them to make this moment a starting point for a historic future in which Syria regains its security, strength, stability, and sovereignty, becoming a safe and stable place for all Syrians.”

He also emphasized that combating terrorism is a shared goal of both Syria and Jordan, and an agreement was reached to combat drug and arms smuggling from Syria to Jordan.

Jordan hosts 1.3 million Syrians, with 10% of them in refugee camps, while the remainder is spread throughout the kingdom.

Jordan has played a prominent role in reintegrating the previous regime into the Arab League, and al-Safadi has previously visited Damascus alongside visits to several Arab and Western countries to update them on his progress with the former regime.

Damascus is experiencing diplomatic activity since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, with several political and official delegations arriving in Syria, meeting Ahmed al-Sharaa and members of the caretaker government. The fall of al-Assad has also enabled the return of thousands of Syrian refugees from around the world to Syria.