Jordan Times
Friday, January 23, 2009
King pledges work with
Obama team on Mideast
AMMAN (JT) - His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday received a telephone call
from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during which the two sides reviewed
the latest regional developments.
King Abdullah and Clinton reviewed efforts exerted to achieve peace in a manner
that would end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of the two-state
solution, a Royal Court statement said.
The King said he is willing to work with the new US administration to help
launch “serious and effective peace negotiations as soon as possible” to arrive
at the two-state solution, which, His Majesty said, is the sole means to achieve
security and stability in the region.
In a telephone conversation with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Clinton
promised to work towards a "durable peace" in the Middle East, Abbas’ spokesman
Nabil Abu Rudeina said, quoted by Agence France-Presse.
"She spoke of the need to support President Abbas and the Palestinian Authority
to reach a durable and just peace as quickly as possible," Abu Rudeina told AFP.
"President Abbas reiterated his backing for the peace process and promised to
make every effort to achieve peace," he said.
President Barack Obama phoned Abbas on Wednesday in what the Palestinians said
was the new US leader's first call to a foreign leader.
"We consider that these two calls in 24 hours show the new administration's
intent not to lose time and the importance it gives to this issue," Abu Rudeina
added.
At her Senate confirmation hearing a week ago, Clinton pledged to work
immediately to pursue Arab-Israeli peace following an Israeli military offensive
in the Gaza Strip that has ended in a fragile truce.
Former US president George W. Bush oversaw the relaunch of the
Israel-Palestinian peace process in November 2007 but little progress has been
made since.
On Wednesday, King Abdullah received a telephone call from Obama during which
the two leaders discussed regional developments as well as bilateral relations.
In a statement issued by the White House on Wednesday, the US president promised
to work towards peace between the Arabs and Israel.
In the statement, Obama said he will also work with the parties concerned with
the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the international community to strengthen
the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and to contribute to the reconstruction of Gaza.
Meanwhile, In a flurry of diplomatic activity in his first week in office, Obama
named special envoys for two of the world's hot spots: the Middle East and the
Afghanistan-Pakistan region.
He chose George Mitchell, a former senator and seasoned international
trouble-shooter, as an envoy who will try to
jumpstart moribund Arab-Israeli peace talks, Reuters reported.
Obama also tapped former ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbrooke as a
special envoy for Afghanistan, Pakistan and related issues.