King Abdullah: A new page opened in Syrian - Jordanian relations
Jordan's King Abdullah Bin Hussein has said that Jordan has opened a new page in relations with Syria in the service of the two "sisterly people and their common interests."
In an exclusive interview to the London-based al-Hayat daily issued on Wednesday, the Jordanian King said, "I felt during the meeting with our brothers in Syria, foremost being with President Hafez al-Assad, that there is a common Arab outlook towards restructuring bilateral relations through a renewed vision of conditions in the region and the requirements of the coming phase."
The Jordanian King continued that there was "a real response to the issues we had raised during our talks in Damascus, on the bilateral or regional matters. And we do appreciate the Syrian stand towards these matters."
The Jordanian King asserted support for Syria's policy and its unwavering stand concerning the Middle East peace process. He added, "Syria is concerned with achieving the objective of peace and has the sure desire to resume negotiations as far as its terms of reference are governed by the international legitimacy resolutions."
King Abdullah continued that there is "a renovated vision" towards the future and reflected on the general inclination of the Syrian policy, "And we do support this inclination," he added.
The Jordanian King also asserted the need to achieve genuine progress on the Syrian and Lebanese tracks.
On Jordanian- Iranian relations, King Abdullah stressed Jordan's readiness to develop these relations in all fields.
On Jordan's relations with Iraq, the Jordanian King said that, "Jordan is working for establishing balanced relations with all Arab states on the ground of mutual respect."
On the US role in the Middle East peace process, King Abdullah expected that the US will be active to revive the Middle East peace process following the Israeli elections, especially on the Syrian and Israeli tracks.
On the decision taken by the Israeli government to reduce Jordan's water share for this year, King Abdullah said, "We refuse the idea of reducing our share of waters for this year and consider such a step as a violation of the Wadi Araba agreement."