Mubarak, king Abdullah exchange messages

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher returned to Cairo Wednesday night after a short visit to Jordan where he had met King Abdullah II.

On arrival, Maher said King Abdullah had asked him to convey greetings message to President Hosni Mubarak.

The Jordanian Monarch affirmed his country's keenness on maintaining coordination and joint action with Egypt on the Palestinian track, Maher said.

During the visit, the top diplomat said, he conveyed a verbal message from President Mubarak to King Abdullah on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, in light of ongoing efforts to stop Israeli aggression on the Palestinian people.

Means to benefit from US State Secretary Colin Powell's regional visit figured high on the agenda of talks in Amman, Maher said.

Egypt and Jordan are seeking to lift the siege of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and are working on both the political and security tracks.

Security could never prevail by means of the current Israeli measures, but rather through a political settlement in accordance with international legitimacy resolution and the relevant UN-Security Council resolutions, Maher said.

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat should not be harmed as he is the elected President of the Palestinians, said the Minister.

He highlighted the need for international observers to monitor actions by Israel which has been violating agreements and, launching aggressions.

Maher stressed the need for the rebuilding of the Palestinian infrastructure destroyed by Israel and warned that Israeli attacks cast doubts on Israel's desire to co-exist and live in peace.

He added that talks with Jordanian officials had tackled providing the Palestinians with aid.

Egypt's message to US State Secretary Colin Powell is the same as that which Jordan will convey when he visits it, said Maher.

He added that Egypt and Jordan work for the good of the Palestinian issue.

It was said he had talks with his Jordanian counterpart as well as with Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb.

Asked about the implementation of a statement adopted by the , US , Russia, the EU and the UN in Madrid earlier in the day, Maher said he believed it had many positive aspects.

He added that the most important thing is that these four parties had agreed on the need for an Israeli withdrawal and halting Israeli practices against the unarmed Palestinians.

One can even say that Israeli premier Ariel Sharon has not come up to the expectations of his people for security and peace, said Maher.

The situation is dangerous, he was referring to a martyrdom operation which hit a bus in Haifa yesterday, describing it as anticipated in light of Israeli actions in Jenin and other Palestinian towns and areas.