King leaves for Vatican, France tour

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday left for the Vatican on a visit, during which he is scheduled to meet with Pope Francis on Tuesday to discuss the US administration’s announcement to recognise occupied Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to relocate the US embassy to the occupied city.

After the Vatican, the King will head to Paris, where he will hold talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on latest regional developments, especially those related to the holy city, a Royal Court statement said.

His Majesty has been leading an aggressive diplomatic push to contain any repercussions of the move, meeting and contacting in the process an array of regional and global leaders and taking part in an Islamic summit hosted in Istanbul, Turkey.

Prince Feisal was sworn in as Regent.