Jordan, Spain seek world consensus on peace push

AMMAN  — His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday reiterated the need for influential international parties to work towards creating a suitable atmosphere for reviving peace talks between the Palestinians and the Israelis. 

At a meeting with Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, the King said the talks should be based on the two-state solution and related international resolutions, according to a Royal Court statement. 

King Abdullah and Garcia-Margallo discussed the situation in the Middle East, especially in Iraq and Syria, and called for reaching a comprehensive political solution that ends the bloodshed in Syria while supporting the Iraqi government’s efforts to fight terrorist groups. 

Talks also covered bilateral ties and the need to boost cooperation in the areas of renewable energy, the economy and trade. 

Garcia-Margallo was also in Amman to open the new premises of his country’s embassy in Amman.

Both Jordan and Spain on Monday stressed that they will continue to support efforts to reach a solution for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict “that satisfies all concerned parties”.

At a joint press conference, Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh and Garcia-Margallo said the two kingdoms would be seeking sustainable peace in their capacity as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC), and other platforms, such as the Arab League in the case of Jordan and the European Union, of which Spain is a member.

The foreign ministers explained that Amman and Madrid will not suggest a new peace proposal calling for peace for Palestine and Israel unless they are certain that such a proposal would receive consensus from all stakeholders.

Stressing that Spain is historically committed to peacemaking, Garcia-Margallo said his country will work with the European countries adding that “we want a proposal that will be agreed up on”, to avoid a scenario similar to what happened at the UNSC on December 30.

Then, a Palestinian proposal calling for peace with Israel within a year and an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories by late 2017 failed to pass a UN Security Council vote.

The same view was echoed by Judeh, who noted that Arab foreign ministers are scheduled to convene on January 15 in Cairo to discuss the next step concerning the Palestinian endeavour.

Commenting on media reports alleging that Palestine will submit a new proposal, Judeh said Jordan has not received any official notification to that regard.

Spain was granted a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council on January 1 for a term that will last for two years, while Jordan still has one year left in its term as a non-permanent member.

Meanwhile, the officials said that both Amman and Madrid still support a political solution for the Syrian crisis. Garcia-Margallo said the issue will be discussed in an open meeting in New York soon.

In a meeting before the conference, Judeh and his visiting counterpart also discussed efforts of the two countries to fight terrorism, vowing to continue working against this “phenomenon” to ensure that peace prevails.

In addition, they discussed another initiative that Jordan is working on, in coordination with other countries, which will be announced soon to show the world true Islam as a religion of moderation.

Garcia-Margallo is visiting Jordan as part of a regional visit where he is scheduled to visit Palestine, Israel and the Gaza Strip to discuss regional issues, mainly the peace process as reported by Spanish media on Sunday.