Jordan to urge Bush action on Israel-Palestinian conflict

AMMAN (AFP) - Jordan plans to urge visiting US President George W. Bush to take action on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a way of thwarting Iranian aims to destabilize the region, an official said.

"The visit of President Bush is an excellent opportunity for Jordan to bring up the Palestinian question and to insist on resolving it as a way of cutting off Iran and preventing it from taking advantage of regional crises for its expansionist aims," the government official said on condition of anonymity.

Jordan's King Abdullah II will meet with Bush when he arrives Wednesday evening for a two-day visit primarily aimed at holding crisis talks with embattled Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Maliki will "briefly join the meeting" and only start in-depth talks with Bush at breakfast on Thursday, the source said.

The king's message to Bush during their working dinner will be above all to "settle the Palestinian issue so that moderation can prevail in the region", the source said.

Jordan sees in Iran "a real danger due to its growing influence not only in Iraq but also in Lebanon through (the Shiite militia) Hezbollah and in the Palestinian territories through its alliance with the Islamic movement Hamas", the official said.

"The best way to counter this Iranian danger is to resolve the Palestinian issue on the basis of a two-state solution, which will strengthen the moderate trends in the region and allow stability."

Bush has no plans to meet with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who held talks with the Jordanian monarch on Tuesday.

However, a Palestinian source said Abbas would meet with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who is also traveling to Jordan to attend a forum on promoting democracy in the region.

The Forum for the Future, to be held Thursday and Friday at the Dead Sea, is part of the Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative launched by Bush at the G8 summit in June 2004.

The initiative calls for reforms in Arab and Muslim countries stretching from Mauritania to Pakistan.

At the first meeting of the annual forum, held in 2004 in Rabat, Arab governments insisted that progress would be difficult, if not impossible without a resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

"The president's position hasn't changed," a senior State Department official said in a separate briefing to reporters. "You can't simply wave a magic wand and say 'you will be at peace.'"

"I know there is a great deal of frustration in the region about the US role but that is because the United States is trying to work towards having two partners who can actually sit across the table and achieve something together."

Abbas and King Abdullah on Tuesday however urged the international community to move forward on the stalled peace process.

"The need today for real progress in the peace process to end the cycle of violence and bolster the chances of achieving peace between Israelis and Palestinians is greater than ever," the king said at their meeting, according to a palace statement.

The king urged the international community "to work rapidly to revive" Palestinian-Israeli peace talks and reiterated Jordan's readiness to help the process.

"Palestinians and Israelis must return to the negotiating table in order to guarantee security and stability for the people of the region," he said.

Abbas described as "positive" an offer made Monday by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to renew peace talks with the Palestinians.

Meanwhile, the Jordanian official said that Bush's trip to Jordan was significant.

"He could have made a dash for Iraq to see Maliki but he wanted to listen to Jordan's point of view," which reflect those of other moderate Arab countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, the official said.

And despite Jordan's insistence that Palestinian peace and statehood are priorities, the kingdom is also pressing for an end to the violence in neighboring Iraq, the official said.

He warned of the dangers of chaos in Iraq that could spill over into the region.

The king also spoke to Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora on the telephone Tuesday and vowed to urge the United States to support his government amid the political crisis in Beirut.

King Abdullah warned on Sunday in an interview with a US television network of the dangers of civil war not only in Iraq but also Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.

Source

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