King Abdullah tells US Jordan will not be drawn into Gaza conflict

King Abdullah also stressed the importance of continued support for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees to ensure it can fulfill its humanitarian mission. (Petra)
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Updated 12 August 2024
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King Abdullah tells US Jordan will not be drawn into Gaza conflict

  • King Abdullah also called for urgent efforts to de-escalate tensions and secure an immediate ceasefire in Gaza

AMMAN: King Abdullah told a delegation of US Congressional aides on Sunday at Al-Husseiniya Palace that Jordan will not be drawn into the ongoing Gaza conflict and will prioritize the safety of its citizens.

While reaffirming Jordan’s commitment to regional stability, King Abdullah also called for urgent efforts to de-escalate tensions and secure an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. He warned that the conflict poses a significant threat to the region and urged intensified international efforts to prevent it from escalating into a broader war.

He highlighted the dangers of extremist settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank and violations at Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem. He reiterated the need for a political solution based on the two-state framework as the only path to lasting peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis.

King Abdullah also stressed the importance of continued support for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees to ensure it can fulfill its humanitarian mission.

The meeting also covered opportunities to strengthen US-Jordan relations, with King Abdullah expressing gratitude for the continued American support. The US delegation, in turn, acknowledged Jordan’s crucial role in promoting peace and stability in the region under the King Abdullah’s leadership.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi; Dr. Jafar Hassan, the director of the King’s Office; and Jordan’s ambassador to Washington, Dina Kawar.

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High-level Turkish team to visit Damascus on Monday for talks on SDF integration

Updated 22 December 2025
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High-level Turkish team to visit Damascus on Monday for talks on SDF integration

  • The visit by Turkiye’s foreign and defense ministers and its intelligence chief comes amid efforts by Syrian, Kurdish and US officials to show some progress with the deal

ANKARA: A high-level Turkish delegation will visit Damascus on Monday to discuss bilateral ties and the implementation of a deal for integrating the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into ​Syria’s state apparatus, a Turkish Foreign Ministry source said.
The visit by Turkiye’s foreign and defense ministers and its intelligence chief comes amid efforts by Syrian, Kurdish and US officials to show some progress with the deal. But Ankara accuses the SDF of stalling ahead of a year-end deadline.
Turkiye views the US-backed SDF, which controls swathes ‌of northeastern Syria, as ‌a terrorist organization and has ‌warned of ⁠military ​action ‌if the group does not honor the agreement.
Last week Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara hoped to avoid resorting to military action against the SDF but that its patience was running out.
The Foreign Ministry source said Fidan, Defense Minister Yasar Guler and the head of Turkiye’s MIT intelligence agency, Ibrahim Kalin, ⁠would attend the talks in Damascus, a year after the fall of ‌former President Bashar Assad.

TURKEY SAYS ITS ‍NATIONAL SECURITY IS AT ‍STAKE
The source said the integration deal “closely concerned Turkiye’s national ‍security priorities” and the delegation would discuss its implementation. Turkiye has said integration must ensure that the SDF’s chain of command is broken.
Sources have previously told Reuters that Damascus sent a proposal to ​the SDF expressing openness to reorganizing the group’s roughly 50,000 fighters into three main divisions and smaller ⁠brigades as long as it cedes some chains of command and opens its territory to other Syrian army units.
Turkiye sees the SDF as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group and says it too must disarm and dissolve itself, in line with a disarmament process now underway between the Turkish state and the PKK.
Ankara has conducted cross-border military operations against the SDF in the past. It accuses the group of wanting to circumvent the integration deal ‌and says this poses a threat to both Turkiye and the unity of Syria.