King Abdullah II of Jordan meets William Burns

King Abdullah II of Jordan met on Wednesday US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, currently visiting Jordan as part of a tour of the region.A press release issued here today said the two sidesdiscussed the latest developments in the region as well as efforts to achieve peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis.The Jordanian Monarch voiced Jordan’s support for the US-brokered Palestinian-Israeli negotiations based on the two-state solution, international legitimacy resolutions as well as the Arab Peace Initiative that should eventually lead to the establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian state as per the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.He also said that the protection of Jordan’s higher national interests is a top Jordanian priority, especially in relation to final status issues, stressing at the same time the importance of preserving and protecting the rights of the Palestinian people.On the crisis in Syria, King Abdullah reiterated Jordan’s support to efforts that aim at arriving at a comprehensive political solution that ends the suffering of the Syrian people.The King also spoke about the burden being shouldered by Jordan as a result of hosting a large number of Syrian refugees and providing them with humanitarian services and relief.Talks during the meeting, also dealt with ways of forging closer ties between the two countries in vari ous fields.Wiliam Burns arrived here on Monday for a several days’visit to Jordan for talks with a number of Jordanian officials.It is noted that Jordan now hosts more than a half million Syrian refugees since the crisis outbreak almost three years ago.