King, US Congress delegation discuss partnership, region

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday discussed with a delegation from the US House of Representatives, headed by MP Darrell Issa, the Jordanian-US strategic partnership and the latest regional developments.

During the meeting, attended by HRH Prince Feisal, His Majesty voiced appreciation for the US support to Jordan's development projects and its assistance in alleviating the refugee-burdened Kingdom's woes stemming out of regional crises, commending the role of the US Congress in this regard.

On the regional level, the talks covered developments to the Palestinian issue following the relocation of the US embassy to Jerusalem, a Royal Court statement said.

In this regard, King Abdullah stressed the need to achieve comprehensive and just peace that leads to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the pre-1967 line, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

His Majesty reiterated that the Jerusalem issue has to be settled within the final status negotiations on the basis of the two-state solution.

As for the Syrian crisis, the King asserted Jordan's support for all efforts aimed at finding a political solution to the ongoing conflict within the Geneva Communiqué, underscoring the importance of maintaining the de-escalation zone in the southwestern region of Syria, which was reached last year under a Jordanian-US-Russian agreement.

For their part, the delegation members voiced their appreciation for Jordan's pivotal role in dealing with various regional issues and its efforts to realise peace, and enhance security and stability in the region.