The Syrian and Jordanian foreign ministers discussed bilateral issues of common interest ahead of the meeting with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iraq. | Photo: Twitter@moi_syria1

Amman, May 1 (RHC)-- The foreign ministers of Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Egypt assured that the solution to the political crisis in Syria lies in the departure of "all illegal foreign forces" from the Arab nation, while calling on the rest of the Middle East to support Damascus' return to the regional arena.

Meeting on Monday in Amman, (Jordanian capital) with their Syrian counterpart, Faisal al-Mekdad, the foreign ministers of the aforementioned countries are seeking a way out of the crisis in that country that would, in turn, allow its return to the Arab League before the summit next May 19th in Riyadh (Saudi capital).

In a joint communiqué at the end of the consultative meeting in Amman, the quartet indicated that "to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis" there should be an "exit of all illegal foreign forces from Syria, in a manner that achieves national reconciliation and restores security, stability, welfare and role" in the country.

The Arab nations noted that it should "work to support Syria and its institutions in any legitimate efforts to extend its control over its lands, impose the rule of law, end the presence of armed and terrorist groups on Syrian lands, and stop foreign interference in Syria's internal affairs."

The purpose of the meeting is to address the Jordanian initiative to reach a political solution to the conflict in Syria, whose membership of the organization was suspended more than a decade ago.  The meeting comes about two weeks after another meeting on Syria between the heads of diplomacy of Jordan, Iraq and Egypt and their colleagues from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), comprising Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Oman.

At the end of the meeting, the foreign ministers agreed on the need to "establish the necessary mechanisms" to resolve the crisis, as well as to "intensify consultations between Arab countries to ensure the success of these efforts."

During the last few years, some of the nations of the region began to thaw their relations with Syria; however, it was the earthquakes of February 6 that seem to have given the impetus to the rapprochement.

In the context of Monday's meeting in the Jordanian capital, it was also learned that the Syrian Foreign Minister, Faisal Al-Mekdad, had previously exchanged with his Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Al-Safadi, on bilateral issues such as border security, water and refugees.