Jordan, Tunisia are realistic, moderate and tolerant — Essebsi

AMMAN — Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi on Wednesday said Tunisia and Jordan hold similar views on regional issues. 

Speaking at an interview with Jordan Television, he said his country and Jordan are reading on the same page regarding these issues, describing the two countries’ approach as realistic.   

Jordan and Tunisia are similar in terms of their openness and moderation, the president added. 

Essebsi who concluded a two-day state visit to the Kingdom on Wednesday commended Jordan’s ability to preserve its stability under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah. 

Regarding the situation in Syria and foreign intervention in the Arab country, he said each Arab country has had its own agenda, and this has weakened the pan-Arab position, stressing that the main issue is not the question of Assad, but rather how to pull Syria out of the circumstances it is going through so that it can mend fences with its Arab peers.   

In reply to a question on how the Tunisian revolution managed not to slip into violence, he said Tunisian people are more inclined towards halfway solutions rather than radical ones. 

The revolution happened due to social reasons such as poverty, unemployment and marginalisation, but basically it was a revolution ignited by the youth and was not driven by religious motives, so it was easy to deal with, he noted, pointing out the need for ongoing efforts to alleviate these problems.