On Oct. 15, Jordan and Syria reopened a vital land border closed since 2015, and almost a month later, on Nov. 19, a Jordanian parliamentary delegation set out for Damascus in what both countries viewed as a major step toward restoring normal relations, which had broken down with the outbreak of the Syrian crisis in 2011. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad received the nine-member Lower House delegation, headed by veteran parliamentarian Abdul Karim al-Dughmi, the day they arrived.

Speaking to the Jordan Times after the delegation’s return to Amman on Nov. 25, Dughmi described the visit as a “complete success” on all fronts, adding that discussions with Assad dealt with restoring Jordanian-Syrian relations to a level “as strong as they were before 2011” and with Syria’s return to the Arab League. In addition, according to Dughmi, talks with Assad and other Syrian officials covered trade, transport and tourism and the issue of Jordanian prisoners in Syria.

“We had very brotherly discussions with President Assad, who began by conveying his greetings to His Majesty King Abdullah and all Jordanians, underlining his keenness on fostering strong relations with Jordan,” Dughmi was quoted as saying.

In an interview with Russia’s Sputnik news agency in Damascus on Nov. 21, Dughmi said that he had discussed the issue of Jordanians detained in Syria with Assad and Syrian Minister of Justice Hisham al-Shaar. He added that Assad had promised to release and pardon most of the Jordanians being held in Syrian prisons and had asked his visitors for a list of their names. A day later, Jordanian news sites reported that on Assad's orders, Syria had released a Jordanian who had been detained for about a month.