Jordan tells Russia to stop recruiting its citizens for war in Ukraine after two killed

Summary

• Jordan demands Russia stop recruiting Jordanians into its army, calling it illegal and dangerous for citizens.
• The foreign ministry urges Jordanians to report recruitment attempts and warns of legal consequences and risk of death.
• Russia previously sought Middle Eastern fighters, including Syrians, early in the Ukraine invasion, raising concerns over Jordanian recruitment.

AMMAN - Jordan on Nov 27 asked Russia to stop recruiting its citizens for its armed forces after two of them were killed fighting for Moscow.

In a statement, the foreign ministry called the recruitment “a violation of Jordanian law and international law” that “exposes citizens to serious danger”.

Spokesman for the ministry, Mr Fuad al-Majali, called on Jordanians “to report any attempts to recruit them into the Russian army” and warned of both legal risks and the danger of death.

The ministry, he said, “has requested the Russian authorities to stop recruiting Jordanians and to terminate the service of any Jordanian citizens already enlisted”.

The ministry was also aware of online recruitment efforts, he said.

It is illegal for Jordanians to join the armed forces of a foreign country.

It’s unknown how many Jordanians may have been recruited, but hundreds live in Russia and more than 20,000 have studied in the countries of the former Soviet Union, according to unofficial data.

Early in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when Moscow was propping up former president Bashar al-Assad’s rule in Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he wanted to recruit 16,000 fighters from the Middle East – with around 2,000 regular Syrian troops later reportedly sent to Russia. AFP