Jordan Times
Friday, April 16, 2004
Jordan reiterates position on efforts to establish peace
AMMAN (Petra) In a concise statement, following
US President George W. Bush's controversial pronouncements on Wednesday
supporting Israeli plans and practices, Jordan on Thursday reiterated its
position on efforts to establish peace between the Palestinians and Israelis.
In a statement to the Jordan News Agency, Petra, Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher
said:
In light of the US-Israeli talks held yesterday [Wednesday], the statements
made by US President George Bush and the letter of guarantees sent by the US
administration to the Israeli government, the Jordanian government wishes to
state the following facts:
First: His Majesty King Abdullah has clarified Jordan's position on the
[planned] Israeli withdrawal from Gaza through the message he sent to President
Bush on the eighth of the current month. In this letter, the King stressed the
need that this pullback should be part of, rather than an alternative to, the
roadmap, and that this withdrawal should lead to the establishment of a
Palestinian state. His Majesty also emphasised in the letter the need for the US
administration not to offer any compromises related to the final status,
especially with regard to the issues of borders, refugees, settlements and the
separation wall. The King requested that the US administration offer guarantees
with regard to these issues, including making efforts to issue an international
resolution through the UN Security Council, to underline that the two-state
solution is the only acceptable peaceful solution.
Second: The Jordanian government reemphasises its adherence to the Arab
initiative as a general framework for a solution for the Arab-Israeli conflict,
and to the roadmap, which constitutes an appropriate mechanism to end the
Israeli occupation and establish an independent Palestinian state within the
1967 borders.
The Jordanian government reemphasises its adherence to Palestinian refugees'
right to return and stresses the need to reach a solution, on which all parties
agree, on the basis of UN Resolution 194 and the Arab initiative.
Third: The US president announced at the press conference yesterday that the
United States would not make prior judgements on the final status issues. Jordan
underscores this stand and stresses that only parties directly involved in the
conflict are entitled to find solutions to these issues and reach agreements in
line with international resolutions 242, 338, 1397 and 1515, the Arab initiative
and the roadmap.
King Abdullah will underline this Jordanian position during his meeting with the
US president next week. While the Jordanian government maintains that
international resolutions are the way to ensure Israeli withdrawal and the
establishment of an independent Palestinian state, it will continue to
coordinate with the Palestinian side and Arab and international parties to
achieve this.