Olmert visits Jordan, meets king Abdullah II

Thursday May 01, 2008 04:58 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with the Jordanian Monarch, King Abdullah II, in a visit to the Jordanian capital, Amman, on Wednesday afternoon, the Arabs48 news website reported.

The website added that according to Israeli sources, Olmert and Abdullah discussed “the latest developments of the Peace Process” and the ways to implement the decisions of the Annapolis Peace Summit.

The visit comes after king Abdullah visited Washington last week in an attempt to urge the United States to exert pressure on Israel to ease its stances and pressures on the Palestinian Authority.

The sources said that king Abdullah told Olmert that it is essential that peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians would lead to an agreement by the end of this year, and that this agreement should be based on the two-state solution in accordance to the commitments of both parties as agreed in the Annapolis summit.

The Jordanian Monarch also sad that the solution should include all fundamental aspects and a permanent peace deal and that the result should be the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

He also said that peace talks should follow a timeframe and that Israel must immediately start acting on improving the living conditions of the Palestinian people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Apparently the two leaders discussed the anticipated summit which will be held on May 18 in Sharm Al Sheikh Resort in Egypt.  The summit will bring together Olmert, Abdullah in addition to the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the US President George W. Bush. Olmert might opt not to participate in the summit. 

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