King Abdullah voices support for Middle East peace, reactivation of trade with Gulf states

King Abdullah of Jordan has asserted his country's backing for Syria and Lebanon in their attempts to restore "their occupied territories and rights" in line with the International legitimacy resolutions. He stressed the need for resuming the Middle East peace process on the Syrian and Lebanese tracks from they where point they broke off in 1996.

In a statement published in the Lebanese weekly al-Hawadith in its recent issue, the Jordanian king reasserted his country's interest in the resumption of peace talks. He stressed that Jerusalem is an Arab land, belonging to the Palestinians and occupied by the Israelis.

He said: "What is applicable to the rest of the Palestinian territories is also applicable to the city of Jerusalem."

In the economic domain, King Abdullah said Jordan will work to reactivate trade and economic cooperation with Syria, Lebanon and the Arab Gulf states.