20 October 2022; MEMO: Jordan Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi has called for a "collective Arab role" to resolve the Syrian crisis and "end the catastrophic situation" in the country.
In a meeting held yesterday with the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen in the Jordanian capital, Amman, Safadi highlighted that the situation in Syria has become intolerable; given the suffering it causes for the Syrians and the negative repercussions on the region, especially neighbouring countries.
He went on to brief Pedersen about the Jordanian proposal, including the need for a collective Arab role in efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis and address its consequences in a manner that guarantees Syria's security and stability, the security of the region, and confronting all the humanitarian, political, security and economic challenges which have resulted from it.
The official stressed the need to intensify efforts to end the catastrophic situation in Syria and reach a political solution that meets the aspirations of the Syrian people, guarantees Syria's unity, cohesion and sovereignty, rids it of terrorism and external interference and creates the necessary conditions for the voluntary return of refugees, the statement said.
The refugees, he continued, are an "international responsibility" and not the responsibility of host countries "alone".
Jordan hosts about 650,000 Syrian refugees who are registered with the United Nations, however, it is estimated that some 1.3 million Syrians moved to Jordan since the outbreak of the war in 2011.
Jordan says the cost of hosting Syrian refugees within the kingdom has exceeded $12 billion.
