Washington: US President Barack Obama telephoned King Abdullah of Jordan to discuss efforts towards advancing peace process in West Asia, the White House said on Thursday.
"They discussed efforts to advance Middle East peace and how the US and Jordan could work together to achieve this goal," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said.
During their discussion, the two agreed on the need to launch Israeli-Palestinian negotiations as soon as possible.
"They also agreed that all parties -- Israel, the Palestine, and Arab states -- should take steps simultaneously to create a context in which these negotiations can succeed,"
Gibbs said.
Obama underscored his strong support for Jordan`s efforts to work with other Arab states to reach out to Israel, and undertake gestures that would demonstrate the meaning of the Arab Peace Initiative.
"The President said that Special Envoy (for the Middle East, George) Mitchell would follow up with the parties in the next few weeks to finalise the steps they would take and lay the groundwork for resumption of negotiations," Gibbs said.
To a question, he said the President is hopeful that through initiatives like meetings and phone call (the Mubarak meeting and the Abdullah phone call), the US is making progress towards establishing peace in West Asia.
"I think the optimism continues to rise. We`re hopeful, and understand that the road ahead will not be easy; it`s a complex and emotional set of issues that we look forward to working through," Gibbs said.
Bureau Report
