Tony Blair [Left] - King Abdulla [Right]
Posted on 11/10/2001 10:36:06 AM PST by Asmodeus
10 November 2001
Jordan's Abdullah urges Arab guarantee of Israel security
By DPA
Tony Blair [Left] - King Abdulla [Right]
Tony and Cherie Blair (1st, 2nd L)with King Abdullah and Queen Raina of Jordan in London on Thursday. (Photo: AP) LONDON - The Arab world must be prepared to offer a collective guarantee of Israel's security and integration into the Middle East in return for the setting up of a Palestinian state, King Abdullah of Jordan said in an interview published Saturday in London.
The Jordanian monarch, in winding up a visit to Britain on Friday, told The Times newspaper that the guarantees would involve countries stretching from the Gulf to Morocco. The newspaper described the remarks as "exploratory" but also an indication of the trend of moderate Arab thinking.
Abdullah said he could foresee that "the Arab countries will make a statement guaranteeing the security of Israel" in what he called a "two-basket approach" agreed by the main parties, including the United States, Russia, the European Union, the United Nations, Egypt and Jordan. This would mark an unprecedented public acceptance by all Arab states not only of Israel's existence but of its full integration within the Middle East, the paper said.
The Times said Abdullah had canvassed the idea in the Gulf states, Saudi Arabia and several North African states. But Syria, Iraq and Libya remained the biggest obstacles. Abdullah told the Times that British Prime Minister Tony Blair agreed with him on all the details.
"I was joking with the prime minister that our tete-a-tetes are getting shorter and shorter because we agree on everything," he said.
On Iraq, he said although there were voices in the United States that wanted to broaden the war and attack Baghdad, "the president and the State Department and others are very clear on the dangers of bringing Iraq into the equation at this stage."
H.M.'s Queen Rania Photo Gallery
Official web site of Queen Rania Al-Abdullah
Queen Noor
Princess Haya!
Queen Muna - Abdullah's mother - From England
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