London - King Abdullah II of Jordan and British Prime
Minister Gordon Brown discussed the forthcoming US-sponsored Middle
East peace conference and the conflict in Iraq during a meeting in
London, officials said Thursday.
The talks, which were followed by a dinner banquet Wednesday
evening, were the highlight of a three-day private visit by the King
and his wife, Queen Rania Al Abdullah, to Britain.
A statement released by the Jordanian embassy said King Abdullah
had stressed that the upcoming conference in Annapolis, Maryland,
should be a real 'starting point for negotiations within a specified
timeframe.'
The international meeting should address final status issues,
which, once resolved, would end the conflict between Palestinians and
Israelis and establish a viable independent Palestinian state living
in peace and security alongside Israel, said the statement.
The two men also discussed ways to support the Palestinian
National Authority (PNA) and alleviate the 'difficult living
conditions of the Palestinian people.'
In this regard, King Abdullah urged the international community to
provide the support needed by the PNA to strengthen institutions and
improve the services it provides to Palestinians.
The king emphasized the need to advance efforts to achieve
national reconciliation in Iraq, adding that this process must be
inclusive in order to succeed.
According to the statement, France will host a conference at the
end of the year for donor countries to garner international political
and financial support for the PNA.
Britain's former leader Tony Blair, who is now the special envoy
of the so-called Middle East Quartet, is due to attend the
conference.
King Abdullah also thanked Britain for its support of Jordanian
efforts to ease its current external debt burden of more than 7
billion dollars, and urged the London government to back the
'establishment of an effective partnership between the G8 and G11
countries.'
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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