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Jordan's Abdullah Urges U.S. To Create New Mideast "Peace Alliance"
AMMAN,
May 10 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Jordan's King Abdullah II
has urged the United States to set up a new Middle East "peace
alliance" that would provide political, economic and security
support to Israel and the Palestinians, Agence-France Presse (AFP)
reported.
Abdullah
made the appeal in a speech Thursday at the Baker Institute for Public
Policy, in Houston, Texas, a day after holding talks on the Middle
East crisis with U.S. President George W. Bush.
"Today
I call upon the United States to seize this historic moment to create
a new peace alliance for the Middle East," Abdullah said in the
speech, which was printed Friday by the Jordan Times and other
newspapers.
"Under
its umbrella, a U.S.-led coalition of European, Arab and other
countries would provide the support that is needed -- security,
economic and political -- by both Israelis and Palestinians,"
Abdullah said.
"The
peace alliance would bring its clout to the bargaining tables,
brokering a comprehensive, fair and lasting deal ... based on clear,
credible principles of justice," Abdullah said.
But
the king insisted that any such deal should "aim for the finish
line, not the half-way markers, not the rules for pit stops."
The
deal should also produce a mechanism, he said, and build upon the
peace initiatives adopted at the Madrid peace conference and the Arab
League summit in Beirut for a land-for-peace exchange between Israel
and the Arabs.
He
stressed that the Beirut summit held on March 27 and 28 that adopted a
Saudi initiative for a comprehensive peace settlement was a viable
option for Israel to make peace with the Arab countries.
Through
a collective peace treaty with every Arab state, Israel would receive
the security guarantees it needs ... At the same time, the Arab states
would have their core requirements met: an end to the Israeli
occupation of all Arab lands, the guarantee of independence, freedom,
dignity, equality and security for the Palestinians," Abdullah
said.
An
editorial in the Jordan Times described Abdullah's speech as a
"peace plan".
But the newspaper, echoed by other dailies, said the initiative could
succeed only if the United States "provides the necessary
leadership for launching and sustaining" negotiations for a final
status rather than interim solutions.
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