US embassy cable - 05AMMAN3503

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 003503 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/04/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, LE, SY, JO 
SUBJECT: JORDAN'S PM BADRAN VISITS SYRIA 
 
REF: AMMAN 3394 
 
Classified By: CDA David Hale for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1.  (C)  Summary:  Prime Minister Adnan Badran, accompanied 
by his foreign and interior ministers, conducted a two-day 
official visit to Syria on May 2-3.  Charge registered USG 
displeasure over the visit with King Abdullah and Royal Court 
Minister Muasher in light of the effort to isolate Syria 
diplomatically.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (U)  Bilateral issues appear to have dominated an 
official two-day visit to Damascus by Jordan's Prime Minister 
Adnan Badran May 2-3, which received front-page coverage in 
most local papers.  Badran, who was accompanied by Foreign 
Minister Qasrawi and Interior Minister Yarfas, told reporters 
after meeting his Syrian counterpart Mohammad Utri that means 
to enhance bilateral relations, particularly implementation 
of an agreement signed in February on economic, commercial, 
tourism, and border issues, were high on the agenda.  Badran 
announced that he and Utri agreed to establish a "hotline to 
overcome obstacles facing the enhancement" of economic 
cooperation.  They also discussed the Iraqi and Palestinian 
situations, emphasizing Jordan's commitment to Iraq's 
stability on one hand, and to the roadmap on the other. 
 
3.  (U)  Meanwhile, Yarfas and Syria's Defense Minister 
Hassan Turkmani signed an agreement to exchange civil defense 
expertise and cooperate during natural disasters.  Yarfas 
also met with his Syrian counterpart Ghazi Kanaan to discuss 
border issues, according to press reports.  Qasrawi met with 
Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shar'a and "reviewed the 
latest regional developments." 
 
4.  (U)  On May 3, Badran met with President Bashar al-Asad. 
Badran told reporters that he had delivered a letter to Asad 
from King Abdullah that dealt with "bilateral ties," but did 
not elaborate on its contents.  Badran said that Asad invited 
King Abdullah to visit Damascus, and that the GOJ will study 
a Damascus suggestion to establish a "free transit zone" in 
Suwaidaa on the Syrian side of the border.  The two sides 
also agreed to increase Royal Jordanian flights to Damascus 
and Aleppo, unify transit fees, facilitate travel procedures, 
and cancel residency fees. 
 
5.  (C)  Comment:  Oddly, Qasrawi did not mention the 
upcoming trip to Damascus during a meeting with Charge on 
April 28 to discuss Syria (reftel).  Press coverage of the 
visit did not signal whether Lebanon or enforcement of 
Security Council Resolution 1559 was on Badran's agenda while 
in Syria.  Noting U.S. efforts to isolate Damascus 
diplomatically, Charge on May 2 registered USG displeasure 
about Badran's visit with Royal Court Minister Muasher.  Dr. 
Muasher asked that we not regard the visit as a problem 
because there is no change in Jordan's policy.  Rather, it 
was part of the new PM's outreach to Arab states in the 
aftermath of damage caused to bilateral ties by former FM 
Hani al-Mulqi.  Charge reiterated that the emphasis was on 
isolation.  Charge said that we hoped Jordan would support 
this effort. 
 
6.  (C)  Comment continued:  During a private dinner hosted 
by King Abdullah in honor of CODEL Frist on May 3, the King 
pulled Charge aside to tell him that the visit was an 
initiative by the new PM, because he perceived a real need to 
"attend to" bilateral relationships in the region (he 
mentioned that Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah would soon be 
visiting Syria as well).  The King said the main purpose of 
the PM's trip to Syria was to follow up on a border agreement 
signed earlier this year.  It was in Jordan's interest, as 
well as that of the U.S., to do everything possible to stop 
terrorist infiltrations across that border.  The Charge 
underscored the importance of isolating Damascus 
diplomatically, and indicated that Badran's visit was not 
helpful in this regard.  Regardless of Jordan's motivations, 
the Syrians would use the visit as evidence that they were 
off the hook with regard to Lebanon, which was not the case. 
The King acknowledged our request for a strong message on 
implementing 1559, but said that it would have been 
inappropriate for the PM to criticize his hosts while still 
in Syria.  He assured Charge that Jordan would look for an 
opportunity to make a public statement supporting Resolution 
1559 soon.  Jordan's policy of joining in pressuring Syria 
was unchanged.  End Comment. 
 
7.  (U)  Minimize considered. 
 
Please visit Embassy Amman's classified web site at 
http://www.state.sgov/p/nea/amman/ or access the site through 
the Department of State's SIPRNET home page. 
HALE