Jordan’s foreign minister calls for investment into war-torn Syria to speed up refugee returns

By OMAR SANADIKI and KAREEM CHEHAYEB
Associated Press

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Jordan’s foreign minister has called for investment into conflict-ravaged Syria’s crippled infrastructure to speed up refugee returns. Ayman Safadi made the remarks following a visit to Damascus on Monday, where he met with Syrian President Bashar Assad and his counterpart Faisal Mekdad. “We have offered everything we can to ensure them a dignified life,” Safadi said at a press conference. “But what we are sure of is that the refugees’ futures lie in their country.” Syria’s uprising-turned civil war, now in its 13th year, has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half of its prewar population of 23 million.