Al-Sisi, King Abdullah discuss peace in the region
THE MEETING TOOK PLACE A WEEK BEFORE THE ARAB-US SUMMIT IN SAUDI ARABIA
President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and King Abdullah II of Jordan discussed on Wednesday “breaking the inactivity of the peace process in the Middle East”, during the latter’s one-day visit to Cairo, according to state-owned television.
Al-Sisi and King Abdullah discussed the Palestinian issue, particularly the two-state solution: the establishment of a Palestinian state on the borders of the June 1967 agreements, with Eastern Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital, reported local media.
The talks further included the two countries’ efforts in countering terrorism and solving the conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and Libya.
Enhancing bilateral relations between the two countries on the economic, security, and strategic levels was also included in the two leaders’ talks.
King Abdullah’s visit follows Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry’s talks with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Al-Safadi concerning the Palestinian issue and means of reviving peace in the region.
The visit comes within the framework of ongoing coordination and consultation between the two countries on the latest developments in the Palestinian issue and ways to support the peace process in the Middle East.
Political Science Professor Hassan Nafaa told Daily News Egypt that there is constant coordination between the two countries, as both have identical stances towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, thus, the latest meeting between the two leaders is mainly held to prepare the meeting with Trump during the Arab-US summit.
This is the second meeting between the two leaders in 2017,as they had earlier met in April on the sidelines of their visits to Washington, DC to meet with US president Donald Trump.
Al-Sisi and King Abdullah are scheduled to attend the US-Arab Summit in Saudi Arabia along with Arab leaders, in addition to Trump, to discuss peace in the Middle East, the Palestinian issue, and combating terrorism.
Trump said during his presidential elections campaign in 2016 that he was willing to work with Egypt, Jordan, and Israel to extinguish Islamic extremism and promote peace in the region.
Al-Sisi had reportedly introduced a framework to solve the Palestinian issue to Trump during his visit, that he referred to as the “deal of the century”, which Israeli media reported to be based on a two-state solution.
Nafaa said that the “deal of the century” would be an illusion, adding that “the two-state solution is no longer applicable, because there are no indicators that Netanyahu will accept such a solution; if he would, it would have been implemented a long time ago,” Nafaa explained.
He described the current talks and the scheduled summit in Saudi Arabia as an attempt to integrate Israel in the region and enhance its relations with Arab countries.
“This is an attempt to establish an American-Saudi coalition against the Iranian expansion in the region,” he added.
According to White House officials, Trump is set to announce an Arab-NATO cooperation during the summit in Saudi Arabia to combat terrorism and stand up to Iran, the Washington Post reported.