Jordan has declared Syria's ambassador to the Kingdom persona non grata Monday and ordered the envoy to leave the country within 24 hours over a series of statements deemed "threatening" to the country, reported the dpa. According to Jordanian foreign ministry spokesperson Sabah Al Rifai, the government took the decision after Bahjat Suleiman made a series of Jordan-critical statements to media outlets and on social media. "The government made a decision today that the Syrian envoy's conduct was not in line of that of a diplomatic representative and gave him 24 hours from Monday morning to leave the country," Rifai told dpa. The move comes less than a week after Suleiman, a former intelligence chief who has served as ambassador to Jordan for over five years, criticized his host country for attempting to prevent Damascus from holding upcoming presidential elections at its embassy. The Jordanian government refused to disclose whether Amman would welcome a replacement envoy. The Jordanian official also noted that the country hosts hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.
