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Obama: Resuming Israeli-Palestinian Peace Talks 'More Vital Than Ever'

   VOA News  May 17, 2011
   President Barack Obama meets with Jordan's King Abdullah II in the Oval
   Office at the White House in Washington, May 17, 2011.

Photo: AP

   President Barack Obama meets with Jordan's King Abdullah II in the Oval
   Office at the White House in Washington, May 17, 2011.

   U.S. President Barack Obama says the "extraordinary changes" taking
   place in the Middle East make it "more vital than ever" that Israelis
   and Palestinians resume peace talks.
   President Obama spoke Tuesday at the White House after meeting with
   Jordan's King Abdullah.
   Obama called for both Israelis and Palestinians to find a way to "get
   back to the table" and begin negotiating a process to create two states
   living side by side in what he described as "peace and security."
   He said the U.S. and Jordan will continue to work together to try to
   encourage an "equitable and just solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian
   conflict, which King Abdullah called the "core issue of the Middle
   East."
   President Obama said he and the Jordanian king also discussed the
   situation in Libya, as well as the political transitions occurring in
   places like Egypt and Tunisia.
   The meeting also covered ways the two countries can cooperate
   economically.
   King Abdullah has been a key player in U.S.-led Middle East peace
   negotiations.
   The meeting comes three days before Obama is scheduled to meet Israeli
   Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington.
   Jordan and Egypt are the only two Arab states to have signed peace
   deals with Israel, a close U.S. ally.
   Jordan has also seen political demonstrations like those that have
   taken place in several Arab countries. Street protests in March
   prompted King Abdullah to set up a commission to amend the constitution
   and to fire his unpopular prime minister.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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