Jordan's king urges unified Arab stance on peace proess (Roundup)

Mar 14, 2007, 16:31 GMT

Amman - Jordan's King Abdullah II Wednesday urged Arab countries to produce a 'unified' Arab stance on pushing forward the Middle East peace process before the arrival in the region of the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice later this month.

The remarks came during a meeting with the visiting Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal and his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Abul Gheit, a royal court statement said.

'The monarch underscored the importance of coordinating Arab attitudes and the need for the forthcoming Arab summit conference in Riyadh to come up with practical decisions for dealing with challenges of destiny that face the Arab nation,' the statement said.

'Issues on the agenda of the summit are of paramount importance, and Arab countries should unify their stands particularly regarding how to restore momentum to the Arab Peace Initiative which was adopted by the Arab summit in Beirut in 2002,' it added.

Abdullah briefed the Saudi and Egyptian ministers on the outcome of his trip the United States last week, where he said he had felt 'commitment' on the part of President George W Bush to help re-launch the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

The monarch delivered a speech before a joint session of the two houses of the US Congress, urging the United States to play an 'historic role' by helping the Palestinians and Israelis to reach a peaceful settlement this year.

He said that such settlement should be based on the Arab Peace Initiative and the relevant UN resolutions.

The Arab blueprint, which was first proposed by King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz when he was Saudi crown prince, envisages Israel's pullout from all Arab lands it occupied in the 1967 six-day war, including East Jerusalem, and the return of Palestinian refugees who left their homes upon Israel's foundation in 1948.

Arab countries pledged to extend recognition to the Jewish state after carrying out these steps.

The Israeli government and the United States are reportedly seeking an amendment to the Arab initiative after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ruled out returning to the 1967 lines, evacuation of East Jerusalem or allowing Palestinian refugees to return to their homes.

Rice, who is scheduled to arrive in the region on March 25, is expected to press the three moderate Arab countries - Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia - to lead efforts to amend the Arab peace plan, Arab diplomats said.

However, Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdul Ilah Khatib seemed to reject such pressure, telling reporters after Wednesday's meeting that 'the Arab Peace Initiative is an Arab declaration of principles which is logical and acceptable to the world community'.

The Arab plan is expected to be high on the agenda of the Quartet's forthcoming meeting which is scheduled to be held in Cairo at the end of this month with Rice's participation.

The meeting will also be attended by the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, according to the European Union's policy chief Javier Solana.

Abdullah also reviewed with al-Faisal and Abul Gheit efforts under way to 'form a Palestinian national government' in accordance with the Saudi-brokered Mecca agreement that was concluded on February 8 between the Palestinian main groups of Fatah and Hamas.

The Jordanian leader urged a pan-Arab effort 'to lift the economic siege' that was imposed by the United States and the European Union on the Palestinian areas after the hard-line Hamas movement scored landslide victory in last year's elections.