AMMAN — Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign
Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey
Lavrov in Moscow on Monday.
اضافة اعلان
Safadi was part
of an Arab delegation that included the foreign ministers and representatives
of Egypt, the UAE, Algeria, Sudan, and Iraq, and Arab League Secretary-General
Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
According to the
Jordan News Agency, Petra, the delegation met with Lavrov to discuss
developments of the war in Ukraine, outcomes of the Russian-Ukrainian talks,
and the security, humanitarian, political, and economic consequences of the
crisis.
The delegation
also met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Poland on Tuesday.
Following the
meetings of the Arab Ministerial Contact Group, Safadi met Lavrov Monday
evening, discussing ways to solve the Ukrainian crisis. They also tackled
relations between Jordan and Russia and regional issues including the Israeli-Palestinian
and Syrian conflicts.
Safadi stressed
the need to stop all illegal Israeli measures that undermine the chances of a
two-state solution, and emphasized the need to halt provocative actions and
respect the historical and legal situation in Jerusalem and its holy sites to
prevent escalation, especially during the holy month of Ramadan.
Political writer
and analyst Hamadeh Faraneh told Jordan News that Jordan and Russia have a
balanced relationship, and that the visit is a positive step that should help
“regain the regional status of collective Arab work, which has been damaged
since the Arab Spring”.
Faraneh added
that the visit is an excellent way “to show a united Arab stand vis-à-vis
international events, especially the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, with its
impact on the Arab world”.
There is a
positive side to the recent conflict, he said, when one contrasts the world’s
reaction to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict with its reaction to the decades-old
Israeli- Palestinian conflict.
Faraneh believes
that the focus on the legal, political and humanitarian aspects of the war in
Ukraine could bring back attention to the Palestinian struggle by showing the
double standards that the US and EU show the two conflicts.
On the negative
side, he said, is the US effort to intensify the focus on the Russian-Ukrainian
war while disregarding the conflicts in Yemen and Palestine.
Faraneh said the
Arab League’s visit prompted Lavrov to reiterate Moscow’s stand “with the
Palestinian people”.
“Arabs are interested
in seeing an international power balance and they support Russia’s agenda of
eliminating the US domination of the global political scene, which has had
negative effects on Arab causes, especially the Palestinian issue, where the US
is a major supporter of Israel,” said Faraneh.
Political analyst
and columnist Amer Al-Sabaileh sees the Moscow visit as having “no political
value”.
He said that
Jordan is a major ally of the US and NATO, which means that there is no real
agenda for Safadi’s visit, which “will not be able to provide anything”.
He explained that
the visit was wrapped in the frame of a pan-Arab initiative, and that the
visits to Moscow and Poland were intended “to give the impression of an Arab
mediation”, adding that “Since Lavrov does not have the time for the
Palestinian conflict now, the visit is more of a risk that Jordan might pay a
price for in the future”.
“Since the EU and the US
are Jordan’s main allies and have taken Ukraine’s side in the conflict, staying
silent and doing nothing is better, because it would not have a negative
impact,” Sabaileh said.
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