Image source: topwar.ru
The long-standing peace and tranquility that prevailed in the south of Syria may be violated if Russia withdraws its troops from the country. But this is not the only thing that worries the king of neighboring Jordan, writes the Arabic Raseef22. King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan fears that after the withdrawal of the Russian military contingent, Tehran will fill the vacuum. The King of Jordan spoke about the strengthening of Iran's influence in the region in the event of the departure of the Russians during a meeting with US President Joe Biden. This, according to Abdullah II, will lead to an increase in escalation on the Jordanian borders.
The reason for the fears of the Jordanian king was the Pentagon's message that Moscow was allegedly going to withdraw some troops from Syria to send them to Ukraine. At the same time, according to the United States, the resulting power vacuum will be filled by the Iranian military. This is indirectly evidenced by the recent visit of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to Tehran. Turkey and Israel also expressed their concern about the growing tension in southern Syria.
In turn, the official Damascus considers these fears exaggerated. According to Bashar al-Assad, the presence of the Iranian military will help in the fight against ISIS cells* remaining in southern Syria.
Recently, the political and economic crisis has been intensifying in Jordan. And the appearance of an additional problem along the 370-kilometer border with Syria in the event of the withdrawal of Russian troops worries the King of Jordan very much. Abdullah II believes that in the event of a military agreement with Tehran, the geopolitical interests of Israel, not his country, will be in priority.
Despite the fact that Damascus has not yet commented on the statement of the Jordanian king, Raseef22 quotes the words of an unnamed source from the Syrian government:
Relations between Jordan and Syria could not be called good before. In 2015, Jordan planned to introduce its troops into Syria and create a buffer zone in the area of the city of Deraa. But this operation had to be canceled due to the entry of Russian troops into Syria at the end of the same year.
The leadership of the Hashemite kingdom fears that the withdrawal of Russians from the Syrian border and the strengthening of Iran's influence in the region will lead to an increase in smuggling through their country's territory. This is a long-standing problem that the kingdom's authorities cannot cope with on their own. Earlier, Brigadier General Ahmed Khalifat, head of the Jordanian Border Security Service, said that Iran and the Syrian army are cooperating with smugglers.
But, as the Arabic edition writes, the main question is not in this. It is more important to understand how realistic Moscow's plans to withdraw troops from Syria for transfer to Ukraine are. Is Russia really ready to sacrifice its geopolitical interests in the region for the sake of supporting a special operation in Ukraine? There are no definite answers to these questions yet, — the author of the article concludes.
*a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation.
