Damascus- An Arab diplomatic source revealed to pro-opposition Syria TV that several Arab countries, which rushed to normalize relations with the Syrian government this year, have gradually scaled back their political and economic engagement under pressure from the United States.
The countries are nevertheless maintaining security and intelligence cooperation.
US officials reportedly took measures to limit this “free” engagement with the Syrian government by withholding financial assistance from its Arab allies. Jordan, Syria’s southern neighbor, and home to millions of Syrian refugees, heavily depends on US aid.
During a visit to Damascus and a meeting with President Bashar al-Assad and other government officials, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi emphasized that the return of Syrian refugees is contingent upon receiving necessary guarantees from the Syrian government, along with essential funding. However, the demand to lift US sanctions, which is needed to allow the war-torn country to recover economically and make absorption of the refugees possible, was firmly rejected by US officials, who have stated their objective of strangling the Syrian economy and preventing reconstruction.
The unnamed source also claimed additional factors were causing Arab states to pull back on economic and political normalization with Damascus, including smuggling Captagon, a highly addictive drug, from Syria to Saudi Arabia via Jordan.
The source claimed Assad has “not made good” on his promise to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries to halt the flow of drugs and shut down Captagon factories in exchange for economic and development assistance.
Further, the Syrian government has “not fulfilled its commitments” concerning Syrian and Arab political prisoners and human rights activists. The government was required to provide information about their fate but has been evasive in its responses, the source speaking with Syria TV claimed.
On the other hand, a western diplomatic source indicated to Syria TV that Russia has intervened to keep agreements between Arab countries and Syria on track despite US efforts. Moscow may also contact Iranian officials and Hezbollah to facilitate the normalization process between Damascus and Gulf capitals.
Writing for The Cradle, Firas Shoufi argued that the US had blamed the Syrian government for the Captagon problem in the region to impose a new phase of economic pressure on Syria. It is “another pretext to increase the siege on the Syrian people, who suffer from extremely difficult economic conditions similar to those they suffered during the famine that the region witnessed during the First World War,” Shoufi wrote.
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