Blinken arrives in Jordan at start of Syria crisis tour

AQABA (AFP): US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Jordan on Thursday at the start of a crisis tour to address the aftermath of the overthrow of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, an AFP journalist on his plane said.

The outgoing top US diplomat headed straight to a meeting in the Red Sea city of Aqaba with King Abdullah II and will travel later in the day to Turkiye.

Blinken has called for an “inclusive” process to form Syria’s next government that includes protections for minorities after rebels ended the iron-fisted rule of Assad, a member of the Alawite community.

Announcing his trip, the State Department said he would also call for a Syria that is not “a base of terrorism or posing a threat to its neighbours” – a nod to the concerns of Turkiye and Israel, which has ramped up strikes on its historic adversary since Assad’s fall.

It is Blinken’s 12th visit to the Middle East since the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel, which has responded with a relentless military campaign in Gaza.

His previous trips have ended in disappointment as he sought a ceasefire between US ally Israel and Hamas.

President Joe Biden’s administration leaves office on January 20.

President-elect Donald Trump has described Syria as “a mess” and said that the United States should not get involved, although he has not elaborated on US policy since Assad’s ouster.