Syria top agenda in talks between US-Jordan leaders

Young journalists club

News ID: 3479
Publish Date: 9:03 - 15 February 2014
US President Barack Obama and Jordan's King Abdullah II will discuss the war in Syria and its refugees in Jordan, the White House said.
The two leaders were scheduled to meet Friday evening (0350 GMT) at Sunnylands Villa, a private residence in Rancho Mirage, near Palm Springs.

Washington and Amman are close allies and have collaborated on aid to Syrian refugees, an estimated 600,000 of whom are in Jordan, the White House said.

"We are constantly engaged in conversations with them about what more we can do to help support their assistance to these refugees and their own budget and economy as they deal with that," a senior administration official said.

He said the US wants to the warring sides to negotiate a political solution and transition.

"We don't see a military solution to this conflict," the official said, but conceded that US efforts to help the opposition and put pressure on the Syrian government is "certainly part ... of the overall calculation."

Obama and Abdullah will also discuss ongoing negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programmes.

"The president looks forward to discussing with King Abdullah opportunities to promote peace, prosperity and reform," the official said.

Sunnylands was chosen as the location for their talks as a sign of "the warm friendship that the president has with King Abdullah" and the friendship between the US and Jordan, the official said.

"Sunnylands offers a private location, a less formal setting that will allow the president to have a wide-ranging discussion with the king," he said.

Obama hosted a summit with China's Xi-Jinping at the Sunnylands Villa last summer.

Abdullah has been in the United States for a series of meetings with Obama administration officials since the beginning of the week. He met with Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry and members of Congress in Washington.

The king met with Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew in Washington earlier Friday and Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel on Thursday.

Other than Egypt, Islamic Jordan is the only other neighbour of Israel to have signed a peace treaty with the Jewish state.

DPA
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