Current regional developments will push int’l community to work together — King

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Tuesday said the current regional developments will compel the international community to work together both militarily and diplomatically in the context of the Vienna talks.

Before a summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, the King said that such efforts "are something that you have been a strong sponsor of", according to a Royal Court statement.

His Majesty added that "Daesh, Al Qaeda and their offshoots want this to be a fight against humanity as well as Islam."

"Your fight against Daesh is a fight that all of us have to do together, not only in Syria and Iraq, but also you and I have said that this is a global war, a war that binds all of us together," the King noted.

"You and I have both talked for many years about the holistic nature of the challenge, how we have to combine international efforts... to fight this in Africa, in Asia as well as in our region.”

His Majesty, who returned to Jordan later on Tuesday, added that these are not just the challenges "we face in Syria and Iraq, but we have also seen terrorism in Saudi Arabia, Beirut, and unfortunately recently in Paris as well as Mali."

"I know that this is a fight that both you and I, our countries and many others in the world are determined to win," the statement quoted King Abdullah as saying.

"Again, this is an opportunity for all of us in the international community to come together and fight this fight as part of a coordinated international body."

Turning to Syria, the King told Putin that: "I have said for many, many years that the only way of finding a political solution in Syria is with the strong role that both you and Russia play for a political solution for the Syrian people."

His Majesty also offered his condolences and those of the Jordanian people over "the innocent Russians that lost their lives in the Metrojet terrorist attack, as well as the loss of your pilot today". 

Commending the strong bilateral ties, the King added that: “I have known you for many years and our relationship has always been a strong one, and I know that it will always continue from strength to strength.”

The Russian president welcomed His Majesty and the accompanying delegation, stressing Russia’s keenness on developing ties with Jordan and coordinating on various developments in the region.

“We are in close contact with each other. It is obvious that today, when there is such an intensive fight against international terrorism, we need to get united. And I am aware that our military and special forces are working in that right direction,” he said. 

Apart from that, Putin said there are also other issues to discuss, and thanked the King for his condolences.

“This event goes beyond [the] framework of regular fights against terrorism. Naturally, our military are pursuing a heroic path against terrorism. They are sacrificing themselves... But today’s event is the blow that has been given to us in our back by the accomplices to terrorists. There is only one way to qualify the event that took place today,” the Russian president said.

“Our jet was downed over the territories of Syria, by the air-to-air missile [of] the Turkish jet F-16. It fell on the territory of Syria, 4 kilometres from the borders with Turkey,” he added, stressing that the Russian pilots and their plane did not threaten Turkey.

When the aircraft was attacked in the air, it was flying at an altitude of 6,000 metres, 1 kilometre away from the Turkish territory, Putin said.

The pilots were conducting an operation to fight Daesh in northern Latakia — a mountainous area where militants, mainly those coming from Russian territories, are concentrated, he noted.

They were “doing their direct duty” of delivering “preventive blows” at terrorists who could threaten Russia’s security. 

People behind that, the president stressed, should be classified as international terrorists.

Putin also said that Russia has been “recording the movement of a large amount of oil and petroleum products” in Turkey, which were being seized from Syrian territory, noting that this is how the terror groups receive their funding.

“Now they are stabbing us in the back by hitting our planes that are fighting terrorism. This is happening despite the agreement we have signed with our American partners to prevent air incidents, and, as you know, Turkey is among those who are supposed to be fighting terrorism within the American coalition,” he added.

Daesh, he added is making “about tens or maybe even hundreds of millions, possibly billions of dollars in oil trade” and protecting itself through its armed militants.

“That is why... they are so blatant in their activities, why they are killing so many people using so many atrocities; why they are committing terrorist attacks throughout the world including in the heart of Europe,” Putin said, noting that Moscow will examine what happened “carefully”, and that the incident “will have significant consequences for Russian-Turkish relations”.

“We have always treated Turkey not merely as a close neighbour, but as a friendly state,” he added, stressing that Russia “certainly” does not benefit from what happened today.

“Instead of immediately getting in contact with us, as far as we know, the Turkish side immediately turned to their partners in NATO in order to discuss this incident. As if it was us who downed the Turkish jet and not vice versa. Do they want to put NATO at the service of [Daesh]?” he asked.

“I understand that every state has its regional interests and we always respected that; but we would never tolerate these atrocities... I really hope that the international community will make it and [unite] in the fight against common evil,” the Russian president said.

“In this context, we really count on the active participation of all countries of the region. And we are really glad to have you here today, Your Majesty. We will continue working with your experts, with your special forces and military...”

In extended talks, attended by senior officials from both countries, King Abdullah and Putin also expressed their keenness to develop bilateral relations at all levels to achieve the interests of both countries and peoples, highlighting the importance of expanding their strategic partnership, especially at the economic and military levels.

Deliberations also covered crises in regional countries and efforts to deal with them in a way that maintains their security and stability, the statement added.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh; King’s Military Adviser and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al Zaben; King’s National Security Adviser and General Intelligence Department Director Gen. Faisal Shobaki; and National Policies Council Rapporteur Abdullah Wreikat attended the meeting.

In addition, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and other senior Russian officials were present at the talks.

Putin also hosted a lunch banquet in honour of King Abdullah and the accompanying delegation in the presence of senior Russian officials.