AMMAN, 11 October 2007 — Jordan’s King Abdallah conferred yesterday with Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan on current regional issues, and voiced support for Turkey to play a “strategic role” in addressing Middle East affairs, according to an official statement.
“The monarch underlined the importance of Turkey’s strategic role in handling the Middle East questions as well as boosting the region’s security and stability,” the statement from the royal court said.
Abdallah “hailed Turkey’s efforts aimed at narrowing the gap between the Palestinian and Israeli viewpoints and encouraging the two sides to push forward through the peace path,” the statement added. Babacan is on a regional tour that also involves Syria, Israel and the Palestinian territories with the avowed aim of advancing the stalled Middle East peace process.
Babacan discussed with Abdallah and Prime Minister Marouf Bakheet “means of supporting the ongoing international and regional efforts to ensure that the forthcoming international conference on the Middle East be a success,” the statement said.
“The king stressed the need for the meeting to produce real and tangible progress in the peace process, including the regaining of legitimate Palestinian rights and the setting up of an independent Palestinian state,” it added.
