Jordan King Fears Syria Problems Can Last For Decades

Jordan “will fully cooperate with France” to provide emergency medical assistance to victims of the fighting in Syria, said Wednesday the Elysee Palace after a telephone conversation between French President Francois Hollande and King Abdullah II of Jordan.

“Jordan will cooperate fully with France for the establishment “of a medical-surgical hospital by the French military at the Syrian-Jordanian border,” the French presidency said in a statement.

Francois Hollande “recalled the mobilization of France to help the victims of the fighting and refugees forced out of Syria” and “welcomed the efforts by Jordan to help the thousands of refugees it hosts on its territory “.

For his part, the Jordanian monarch “welcomed the initiative of France,” saying it “reflects the friendship” between the two countries and “responds to an urgent need”, according to the Elysee.

A French reconnaissance team arrived Tuesday in Jordan to implement the emergency medical assistance declared Monday by Paris.

King Abdullah yesterday expressed his fear about a long sectarian conflict in Syria if the regime downfalls and President Bashar al-Assad took refuge in an Alawite stronghold. “I feel that if (Assad ) can not lead the Greater Syria, so maybe Plan B is an Alawite enclave “, Abdullah II said in an interview with the U.S. television network CBS News. “I think this would be for us the worst scenario, because then it would mean a division of Syria. If Syria imploded, there would be problems that we would not solve for decades,” he added.

Syria could also dive into “an abyss” if a political solution was not found soon, added King Abdullah. “The longer we delay a political solution, the greater the chaos continues,” he concluded.