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Bush to give Jordanian King written guarantees on roadmap
Washington, Apr 27: US President George W. Bush plans to offer Jordan`s King Abdullah II assurances that the United States has not pre-judged the outcome of eventual peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, US officials said.
Washington, Apr 27: US President George W. Bush
plans to offer Jordan's King Abdullah II assurances that the
United States has not pre-judged the outcome of eventual peace
negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, US officials
said.
The assurances would come in the form of written
letters of guarantee or statements of clarification aimed at
assuaging Arab anger and confusion over Bush's April 14
endorsement of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's
controversial disengagement plan, the officials said.
Under plans now being finalized by US and Jordanian
diplomats, King Abdullah would also present written documents
to Bush pledging Jordan's support for Palestinian reform
efforts as Israel moves to unilaterally withdraw from the
Gaza Strip under the Sharon plan, the officials said.
"They are planning an exchange of letters clarifying
where things stand now and how we both think things should
proceed," one official told a news agency on condition of anonymity.
That official said the statement would assert that while welcoming the Sharon plan, the united states remained firmly committed to the internationally backed "roadmap" for peace that has at its core the creation of a Palestinian state through direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Another official said Jordan was particularly eager to get a written assurance that Bush's embrace of the Sharon plan did not mean the US had made up its mind about so-called "final status issues" which are reserved for those eventual direct talks.
Bureau Report
That official said the statement would assert that while welcoming the Sharon plan, the united states remained firmly committed to the internationally backed "roadmap" for peace that has at its core the creation of a Palestinian state through direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Another official said Jordan was particularly eager to get a written assurance that Bush's embrace of the Sharon plan did not mean the US had made up its mind about so-called "final status issues" which are reserved for those eventual direct talks.
Bureau Report