King Abdullah Bin Hussein's visit to Damascus
Regional-Jordan, Analysis, 4/22/1999

Observers say that the visit of Jordan's King Abdullah to Syria will open a new "page" in relations between Syria and Jordan.

The Jordanian throne has been criticized for its inclination to side with the West. Current developments in Jordan may indicate that the King Abdullah of Jordan wants to express that this perspective is wrong, since the very beginning of his rule, he started with strengthening relations with the many Arab states that he visited.

It is most likely that the talks King Abdullah held in Damascus were the most difficult in his tour of the states of the region.

Syrian - Jordanian relations have been characterized by difficulties since Jordan's signing of the Wadi Araba agreement with Israel in 1994. Nevertheless, President al-Assad's attendance of King Hussein's funeral and his son Bashar's visit to Jordan later on indicate that relations between the two states are witnessing a strong impetus towards improvement in all areas following five years of hostilities.

However, current developments in the region may also indicate that part of the King's visit to Damascus is intended to make a reconciliation between President al-Assad and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.

Syria does not accept an intensive political and security presence for Israel in its southern part. And for that it is likely that what Damascus wants from Amman is not only bilateral coordination towards the Middle East peace process, but to monitor the Jordanian-Israeli relations as a whole.

What is more urgent for the two states is to close files already opened. They include the file of the Jordanian detainees in Syrian jails, as claimed by Jordan, and the water issue, as well as unifying the Syrian and Jordanian stances towards later developments in the Middle East peace process. While Damascus seeks slowness in the normalization process in the Jordanian-Israeli relations, Amman has, for its part, realized throughout the past years that the normalization policy did not give any magic solution to the deteriorated economic conditions in Jordan.

It is more possible that this visit is of great importance for the Syrians in that King Abdullah's visit to Syria before he visits Washington next month signifies that the Jordanian government has given top priority to Arab relations rather than to other obligations, including those with the US and Israel.

Previous Stories:
  Damascus: We seek comprehensive coordination with Amman, not new axis   (4/21/1999)
  On King Abdullah's visit to Syria   (4/21/1999)
  Jordan and Syria continue contacts   (4/19/1999)

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