Jordan Times
Monday, April 10, 2006
Khatib briefs House panel on regional developments
AMMAN (JT) — Foreign Minister Abdul Ilah Khatib on Sunday voiced Jordan's concerns with bringing security and stability to Iraq.
Briefing the Lower House Arab and International Affairs Committee yesterday, Khatib reiterated the country's position on preventing the partition of Iraq and maintaining the unity of its land.
Khatib's statement comes as the Iraqis marked the third anniversary of the fall of Baghdad. Now into its fourth year of occupation, Iraq is being ripped apart by an upsurge of sectarian violence and a political crisis over the ousting of Prime Minister Ibrahim Jafari.
In a meeting chaired by Deputy Mohammad Abu Hdeib (Amman Fifth District), the foreign minister told the committee members that the Arab League summit in Khartoum welcomed King Abdullah's invitation to Iraq's religious and tribal leaders to convene in Amman on April 22.
More than 200 Iraqi leaders will attend the Iraqi Islamic Reconciliation Conference, which seeks, according to Khatib, to reach a common ground between the participants and contribute to solving the Iraqi crisis.
“This [conference] is a clear evidence that Jordan, under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah, is concerned with... ending the unstable situation in Iraq and enabling the formation of a national Iraqi government,” he said.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari commended the King's initiative to host the conference during the Arab League summit in Khartoum last March. “It will contribute to making all sides reach a better understanding,” Zebari was reported as saying of the conference.
In his briefing to the committee, Khatib touched on the Palestinian question asserting that Jordan favours the establishment of a viable Palestinian state with Jerusalem its capital and endorses Israel's withdrawal from occupied Arab territories.
He said there was a common understanding among Arab leaders, during the Arab League summit, on the necessity of continuing the Arab countries' aid to the Palestinian Authority.
The PA faced a cut-off of financial support by major donors, including the EU and the United States, when the Hamas-dominated Cabinet took office earlier this month. “It serves the interests of Jordan when the Palestinian people obtain their independence and when security and stability is restored in Iraq,” Khatib said.
Jordan opposes any escalation in the area because of its counterproductive effects on the country and the region, he added.
The parliamentary committee also discussed with Khatib the issue of Jordanian prisoners captured by Israel.
“There are constant communications between Jordan and Israel to secure the release of prisoners as soon as possible,” Khatib told the panel.
The committee decided to periodically hold a separate meeting to study the issue of Jordanians detained by different countries, and follow up on the government's measures with this regard.