The meeting will be attended by Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, his Syrian counterpart As’ad Al-Shaybani, and Thomas Barrack, the U.S. special envoy to Syria and Washington’s ambassador to Turkey, along with official delegations from the three countries, according to the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Safadi is scheduled to hold separate bilateral talks with both Al-Shaybani and Barrack on the sidelines of the meeting to discuss aspects of bilateral cooperation and regional issues related to the Syrian situation, according to the ministry. The ministry added that the meeting “will be attended by Syrian Foreign and Expatriates Minister As’ad Al-Shaybani, the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Turkey, and the U.S. special envoy to Syria, Thomas Barrack, as well as representatives from the concerned institutions in the three countries.” It explained that “the meeting is a continuation of the discussions held in Amman in mid-July,” which focused on stabilizing the ceasefire in the southern Syrian province of Sweida and opening cooperation channels to address the crisis’s repercussions there. This comes against the backdrop of reports by German media about the Syrian government sending military reinforcements to eastern Aleppo and Raqqa in northeastern Syria yesterday, Sunday. The German news agency quoted informed sources saying that “the Syrian Ministry of Defense sent large military reinforcements to the Tishreen Dam and Deir Hafer in eastern Aleppo countryside, and other reinforcements arrived in the Zamla area in southern Raqqa from the ranks of the 60th and 76th divisions of the Ministry of Defense.” The sources, who requested anonymity, added that “the military reinforcements that arrived in the Tishreen Dam, Deir Hafer, and Zamla areas came after assaults and repeated targeting of the Ministry of Defense forces by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).” Meanwhile, the Syrian Ministry of Defense’s media department issued a statement saying: “Some social media platforms circulated video footage of one of the Syrian Arab Army’s training exercises south of Aleppo city (northern Syria), which was circulated as new military movements. In response, we clarify that what was reported in ‘Al Arabi TV’ and several media outlets that quoted it in this regard is inaccurate and does not reflect reality.” It is noteworthy that the recent violence in Sweida province might be discussed in the presence of several local dignitaries, especially after the UN Security Council condemned the violence, showing scenes from inside a hospital with harsh footage of killings and torture of medical staff. In a statement published by the United Nations yesterday, Sunday, the UN Security Council called for “commitment to the ceasefire and ensuring the protection of civilians, in addition to facilitating the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to Sweida and all over Syria.” Arab media revealed preparations for a meeting between the Syrian government and dignitaries from Sweida province in the Jordanian capital Amman, with regional and international support, along with efforts to involve Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Syria, family chiefs, and faction leaders in the province.
