Anti-annexation drive tops Safadi’s talks with EU’s Borrell

AMMAN — Jordan on Thursday highlighted the important role of the European Union in averting the implementation of the Israeli decision to annex Palestinian territories and the bloc’s endeavours in reviving peace efforts to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict based on the two-state solution.

Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, in a phone call with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, praised the EU’s “solid stances” rejecting the annexation, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.

The Foreign minister said that the annexation plan violates international law and warned against its repercussions on efforts to realise a just peace, the statement said.

Safadi and Borrell reiterated the importance of continuous coordination and joint action to prevent the implementation of the annexation and resuming “serious” negotiations to reach a just peace based on the two-state solution.

The minister warned that implementing the annexation decision will constitute a “flagrant breach of international law and demolish the pillars of the peace process, and consequently, will make the one-state solution inevitable”. 

He urged the international community to join efforts to avert the decision and explore avenues to realise a just and comprehensive peace, the statement said.

The two sides also reviewed the latest regional developments and stressed the importance of enhancing Jordanian-European partnership in all fields.

Safadi also expressed gratitude to Borrell for the support provided by the EU to help the Kingdom face the economic challenges, the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the refugee crisis.

Also on Thursday, in phone conversations with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and Latvia’s top diplomat Edgars Rinkēvičs, Safadi went over the latest efforts pertaining to stop the annexation decision and resuming negotiations to end the conflict based on the two-state solution, the ministry added.

Safadi highlighted the importance of the French, German and European stances in exerting joint efforts to “spare the region the repercussions of the decision that, if implemented, would undermine opportunities for a just peace and fuel conflict in the Middle East”.