AMMAN, Jordan

Syria has rejected a request to supply Jordan with 30 million cubic meters of water, according to a Jordanian minister on Tuesday.

The request was turned down “due to the water situation in Syria,” Minister of Water and Irrigation Muhammad Al-Najjar said in statements cited by the state-run Al-Mamlaka TV.

Jordan seeks to avoid a water crisis as the country is the second most water scarce nation in the world.

Last month, Amman said it will buy 50 million cubic meters of water from Israel under an agreement signed between the two countries in October 2021.

Under their 1994 peace accord, Israel supplies Jordan with up to 55 million cubic meters of water annually.

* Ikram Imane Kouachi in Ankara contributed to this report