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AMMAN, Jordan – The Syrian government on Monday celebrated the reopening of a vital border crossing with Jordan, a new sign of President Bashar al-Assad's control of much of the country and progress in normalizing relations with Syria. other Arab countries.
The civil war that has been tearing Syria apart since 2011 has ravaged the country's economy and shattered many of its regional relations. Assad, along with his Russian and Iranian allies, now hopes to be able to repair the damage.
The Nasib border post along Syria's southern border with Jordan was closed for three years as its territory was controlled by a combination of armed rebels and jihadist fighters. The Syrian government seized the area this summer with the help of Russian air strikes, allowing the crossing to reopen.
The Nasib crossing is a vital economic artery for both countries and its opening allows Syria to export products from the land and other products to Jordan and send them to other Arab countries.
Economic activity also provides a source of employment for many drivers and traders on the Jordanian side, and Lebanon, Syria's western neighbor, should also benefit from the export route.
Cars and trucks carrying passengers and merchants began to cross after the border opened Monday morning.
Syrian officials clearly saw the beginning of a broader normalization with other Arab states after seven years of civil war that isolated the country from the diplomatic point of view.
Speaking alongside his Iraqi counterpart in Damascus, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem expressed hope that his country's crossing point, Albu Kamal, with Iraq, would open shortly. .
"What lasts, is the general mutual interest that these passages between people create, which is why we are looking at this in broad outline," he said.
Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs, offered an encouraging response by talking about improving relations with Syria and reintegrating them into the Arab world. "No one can marginalize Syria and have mentioned the need for his return to the Arab League," he said.
The 22-member Arab League suspended Syria's membership following the outbreak of the civil war, largely because of widespread disgust at the intensity with which Assad sought to suppress the uprising against his country. power.
Many Arab states remain deeply hostile to Assad's government and it is unclear when Syria could be readmitted as a member.
Developments at the Nasib border crossing coincided with the Israeli army's decision on Monday to reopen the Quneitra crossing point between the Syrian-Israeli controlled portions of the Golan Heights. Syria was safe.
The passage was first established at the end of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, when the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force was created to implement the ceasefire between Israel and Syria, creating thus a demilitarized zone.
The crossing allowed United Nations troops to move freely between the territories controlled by the two countries.
Although no major trade has crossed the two-state border, which remains an enemy, it has allowed members of the local Druze population, who live on both sides of the demarcation line, to visit to Syrian Bride parents. "
The crossing was closed in 2014 after attacks by Syrian rebels and jihadists, who repeatedly captured dozens of UN peacekeepers. But UN troops have gradually returned to the Israeli-Syrian border in recent months. The passage is open only for these forces, said the Israeli army.
Rana F. Sweis was reported in Amman, Jordan, and Ben Hubbard, Beirut, Lebanon. David M. Halbfinger wrote reports from Jerusalem and Falih Hassan from Baghdad.
