Jordan Times
Friday, August 20, 2004
No problems with Kingdom - Qureia
AMMAN, August 20 (JT) - Palestinian Prime
Minister Ahmed Qureia on Thursday said there is no future for Palestine without
transparent relations with Jordan.
Qureia told Prime Minister Faisal Fayez at a meeting here that the
Jordanian-Palestinian ties are based on mutual respect and continued
cooperation, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. “The Palestinian Authority
is Jordan's ally and we do not have any negative stand towards the Kingdom,”
Qureia was quoted as saying. On his part, Fayez said His Majesty King Abdullah's
recent statements on the Palestinian situation were clear and sound in
reiterating Jordan's interest in the establishment of an independent Palestinian
state and return of refugees.
Earlier this month, King Abdullah criticized the Palestinian leadership for its
wavering demands and called for urgent reforms at the top level in order to move
the peace process back on track. “We want the Palestinian leadership to declare
clearly what it wants and not surprise us every now and then with some decisions
or by accepting things that it did not accept before,” King Abdullah told the
Saudi-based Al Arabiya satellite channel in an interview, adding that what had
been rejected before has unfortunately become a great achievement by some
people. Fayez, meanwhile, emphasized Jordan's rejection of Israel's
controversial separation barrier, which threatens the Kingdom's interests.
The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher.