Jordan maintains Syrian ties despite envoy's expulsion
Jordanian officials insist the Syrian envoy's expulsion was based on his actions, not a rupture in ties with Damascus.
AMMAN, Jordan — Jordan’s decision on May 28 to expel Syria’s ambassador in Amman, Bahjat Suleiman, within 24 hours came one day after the envoy was seen attending the kingdom’s celebration of its national day, which was led by King Abdullah. The decision was welcomed by the majority of Jordanians since Suleiman had ignored a number of warnings from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs because of his critical statements of Jordanian policies on Syria and vitriolic attacks against deputies and columnists because of their anti-regime stands.
Always a controversial figure, Suleiman used his Facebook page to assail Jordanian critics of Syria, ignoring the most basic diplomatic norms while inviting backers of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime to meetings in his house. Political analyst Amer al-Sabayleh told Al-Monitor the envoy has arranged visits by Jordanian supporters to Damascus in a stark challenge to the authorities in Amman.
By declaring him persona non grata, Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Joudeh insisted that the action was taken against Suleiman himself and had nothing to do with Jordan’s policy on Syria. Joudeh said Syria can nominate a new ambassador anytime.
But while the expulsion was predictable, and in the view of many overdue, pundits raised questions about its timing and whether it was one of a number of steps that Jordan was about to take against Syria. For starters, the move came a few days after the launch of an annual multinational military exercise in the Jordanian desert called “Eager Lion.” Jordanian officials insist that the two-week operation involving mostly anti-Assad states — such as Turkey, the United States, France, Britain, Saudi Arabia and others — has nothing to do with the crisis in Syria.
