The Syrian government agreed to work on “effective steps” to counter the narcotics trade, which poses a major security threat to its neighbours, during an Arab meeting in Amman on Monday to discuss normalising ties with Damascus.
Curbing the narcotics trade is a major goal of a drive partly led by Jordan towards opening a new diplomatic chapter with President Bashar Al Assad, who is supported by Iran.
Jordan has blamed the Syrian military and Iran-backed militias for the proliferation of the trade, which has enriched the government and its militia allies.
Differences among Arab powers have impeded the normalisation of ties, as has scepticism from the US, which has pointed out Iran's deep links with Syria.
A joint communique issued after the meeting between the foreign ministers of Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq and Saudi Arabia said Damascus would co-operate on “identifying the sources of production of narcotics in Syria and its smuggling” and “the parties that organise and manage and execute the smuggling”.
The statement said the five countries had agreed to “reach consensus on effective steps to deal with the security challenges related to border security through establishment of effective co-ordination mechanisms” between Syrian security forces and their Arab counterparts.
The communique also called for “all terrorist armed groups” to leave Syria, as their presence threatened “regional and international security”.
The Syrian government also agreed to “identify” what is required to improve public services in areas where refugees could return to, with the possibility of Arab financing being made available for this purpose.
Infrastructure improvements should aim at “providing a dignified living to those refugees who chose to return voluntarily to Syria”, the statement said, suggesting that the Syrian regime could enact an amnesty for returning refugees.
Upon the arrival of Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad to Amman on Monday, Jordan announced its armed forces had killed a smuggler on the border with Syria, highlighting the problem of illegal drugs at the centre of talks with Damascus.
The Jordanian military said Jordanian border troops were involved in a battle overnight with a group of smugglers from Syria, killing one of them.
A military official said 133,000 Captagon pills were seized, as well an AK-47 rifle and a quantity of ammunition.
The Syrian government was ostracised by much of the Arab world and western countries for its suppression of the 2011 protests against five decades of Assad family rule.
A gathering in Jeddah two weeks ago, held shortly after a detente between Saudi Arabia and Iran was announced, did not bridge Arab differences over how to approach the Syria question.
A Jordanian official said the narcotics issue as well as obtaining guarantees for the safe return of refugees, even to areas where militias supported by Iran hold sway, was discussed in the Jeddah meeting.
He said the discussions have focused on “a detailed road map that deals with all the key issues”.
But Qatar, which attended the meeting in Jeddah after publicly opposing Damascus's return, was not be represented at the Amman meeting on Monday.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said last month that the reasons behind the “boycott of the Syrian regime” and its suspension from the Arab League persist.
Syria was suspended from the league in November 2011 after its government used tanks to repress demonstrations in provincial capitals such as Deraa, Hama and Deir Ezzor. Thousands of people, mostly civilians, were killed.
The Arab effort to bring Syria back into the international fold has been met by a lukewarm response from Washington.
On Saturday in Amman, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi met Barbara Leaf, the US assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs. The official Jordanian news agency said regional issues “of mutual interest” were discussed.
A senior western diplomat said the US told Jordan and other Arab countries that any business exchange with Syria pursuant to normalisation could run afoul of American sanctions on Damascus.
“The US has not been interfering, and in some ways it cannot, with the drive for normalisation,” the diplomat said.
“But Washington has made it clear that Arab companies have a lot at stake in the US and that Syria might not be worth risking it.”
Large parts of Syria, including the oil and wheat producing east, remain outside the control of the government, with the country divided into zones of Iranian, Russian and US dominance.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is scheduled to visit Damascus on Wednesday.
Background: Chemical Weapons
if you go
The flights
The closest international airport to the TMB trail is Geneva (just over an hour’s drive from the French ski town of Chamonix where most people start and end the walk). Direct flights from the UAE to Geneva are available with Etihad and Emirates from about Dh2,790 including taxes.
The trek
The Tour du Mont Blanc takes about 10 to 14 days to complete if walked in its entirety, but by using the services of a tour operator such as Raw Travel, a shorter “highlights” version allows you to complete the best of the route in a week, from Dh6,750 per person. The trails are blocked by snow from about late October to early May. Most people walk in July and August, but be warned that trails are often uncomfortably busy at this time and it can be very hot. The prime months are June and September.
'The Lost Daughter'
Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Starring: Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Dakota Johnson
Rating: 4/5
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
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Start times
5.55am: Wheelchair Marathon Elites
6am: Marathon Elites
7am: Marathon Masses
9am: 10Km Road Race
11am: 4Km Fun Run
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Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Director: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas
Three stars
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