Jordan says regional talks with Syria step toward ending Damascus isolation

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordan’s top diplomat said on Monday that regional talks with Syria are a step in the right direction to end a decade of the war-torn country’s political isolation and bring Damascus back into the Arab fold.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi’s remarks came as Jordan hosted a meeting of envoys from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt and Syria. Before the meeting kicked off, Safadi met one-on-one with his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad.

Damascus is slowly returning to the Arab fold after being ostracized over President Bashar Assad’s brutal crackdown on a 2011 uprising that descended into a years-long civil war. READ MORE