Jordan Times
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Amman, Riyadh renew support for Lebanese gov’t
AMMAN (JT) — King Abdullah and Saudi King Abdullah on Wednesday
reiterated their support for Lebanon to overcome war repercussions, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
At a Jeddah meeting, the two leaders also renewed their backing for Lebanese government efforts to fully control
the country, calling on all Lebanese to safeguard their national unity. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is heading
to the Middle East to try to promote support for the UN resolution that led to the fragile Israeli-Hizbollah ceasefire.
Annan plans to visit the Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and will likely go to Syria
and Iran as well, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric was quoted by the Associated Press as saying. Urging a unified Arab
stand to effectively tackle regional challenges, King Abdullah and the Saudi monarch agreed on the need for ensuring
peace and stability in the Middle East, according to Petra.
They also discussed the Palestinian issue and Iraq as well as bilateral issues.
Reiterating that the Palestinian cause was the core issue in the Middle East conflicts, the two kings urged permanent
solution based on international legitimacy and the peace initiative Arab leaders adopted in their Beirut summit in 2002.
The Arab Peace Initiative offers peace and normal relations to Israel in return for the Jewish state’s withdrawal
from territories occupied after the 1967 war, as well as an agreed solution to the refugee problem and the establishment
of a Palestinian state.
King Abdullah and the Saudi king yesterday urged unified efforts to revive the peace process, which should lead to a
just and comprehensive peace in the region.
On Iraq, the two leaders renewed their support for government efforts to establish peace and stability.
At the bilateral level, the two sides agreed to bolster their relations, particularly in economic fields.
King Abdullah arrived yesterday in Saudi Arabia from Baku, where he held talks with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev on
bilateral ties and regional developments. On Tuesday, the King discussed Middle East issues with Pakistani President
Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad.
Meanwhile, the Monarch and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak reviewed over the telephone developments in the Palestinian
territories and Lebanon, Petra said.