Joe and Jordan king bond
Lauds Abdullah as loyal ally in a ‘tough neighborhood’
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden praised King Abdullah of Jordan as a stalwart ally in a “tough neighborhood” as the two leaders huddled at the White House on Monday, a meeting that came at a pivotal moment for both leaders in the Middle East.
Last week a Jordanian state security court sentenced two former officials to 15 years in prison over an alleged plot against the king uncovered earlier this year that involved Abdullah’s half-brother.
“You have always been there, and we will always be there for Jordan,” Biden said during an Oval Office appearance with Abdullah and his son, the Crown Prince Hussein.
Biden noted that he first met Abdullah when he was a U.S. senator and Abdullah was the crown prince.
Abdullah had a difficult relationship with former President Donald Trump, who he saw as undercutting any chance for a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians with his 2017 declaration of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. He also chafed at the Trump administration’s pursuit of what officials called the Abraham Accords — deals with Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan and Morocco that normalized relations with Israel but left out the Palestinians.
Biden has no plans to reverse U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital. His administration has even praised the Trump-brokered accords — a rare instance of the Democratic administration speaking positively of the former administration.
Biden planned to stress to Abdullah in private that the accords are not an “end run” on finding the way to a peace deal that includes a Palestinian state, according to a
senior administration official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Abdullah, for his part, praised Biden for “setting the standard” internationally in the battle against COVID-19. The U.S. delivered 500,000 vaccines to Jordan days ahead of the king’s visit. The king also appeared to make clear that he was looking to reset the U.S.-Jordan relationship after four bumpy years with Trump.
“You can always count on me, my country, and many of our
colleagues in the region,” Abdullah said.
The two leaders planned to discuss the situation in Syria — more than 1 million Syrian refugees have fled the war-ravaged nation for Jordan — and a wobbly security situation in Iraq, an administration official said. At least eight drone attacks have targeted the U.S. military presence in Iraq since Biden took office in January, as well as 17 rocket attacks.
Abdullah is the first Arab world leader to meet face-to-face with Biden. The president is set to host
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa alKadhimi at the White House next week, and Biden has invited Israel’s new prime minister, Naftali Bennett, to visit later this summer.
The meeting with Biden was also a chance for the king to spotlight his closeness to Biden following the attempted coup.
Bassem Awadallah, who has U.S. citizenship and once served as a top aide to King Abdullah, and Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, a member of the royal family, were found guilty of sedition and incitement charges. Both men denied
the charges, and Awadallah’s U.S. lawyer said his client alleged he was tortured in Jordanian detention and fears for his life.
They are alleged to have conspired with Prince Hamzah, the king’s half-brother. Biden, who has known Abdullah for years, was quick to publicly express “strong U.S. support for Jordan” and praise the king’s leadership after details of the coup attempt were unveiled in April.
First Lady Jill Biden hosted Queen Rania al Abdullah for tea at the White House.