Turkiye, Jordan discuss voluntary return of Syrian refugees

ANKARA

The foreign ministers of Turkiye and Jordan said Wednesday that they will be working together to devise a plan for the voluntary return of Syrian refugees to their country.

Turkiye's Mevlut Cavusoglu held a joint news conference with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi in the capital Ankara after a meeting in which they discussed regional and bilateral matters.

Cavusoglu expressed his willingness to host a ministerial-level conference on the repatriation of Syrian refugees.

Stating that Turkiye attaches great importance to its relations with Jordan, Cavusoglu said: "We share many challenges in our region and I would like to say that our views overlap on all regional issues."

Cavusoglu recalled that they have resumed Istanbul-Aqaba flights, which were suspended due to the pandemic.

For his part, Safadi expressed his pleasure to visit Turkiye, stressing he will convey a message from Jordanian King Abdullah to Turkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Citing growing economic relations, Safadi said the trade volume between the two countries has increased during the last year despite the coronavirus pandemic.

He said that during the meeting with Cavusoglu, international and regional issues of mutual interest were discussed, including the Ukrainian crisis and the Palestinian cause.

Stating the Jordanian king is making efforts to revive the Palestinian-Israeli talks, Safadi hailed “the Turkish role and Turkiye’s constant and permanent stance on supporting Palestinian rights and achieving just and eternal peace that meets the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.”

He went on to say that coordination with Turkiye is ongoing over the issue of repatriation of Syrian refugees, as the two countries host the largest population of Syrian refugees.