Israeli PM in Jordan for talks with king

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made an unannounced visit to neighbouring Jordan on Thursday for talks with King Abdullah II on the Middle East peace process, palace officials said. The rare meeting in Amman comes as US Secretary of State John Kerry is pushing to get the Palestinians and Israelis to agree on a framework to guide peace talks forward. His proposals include a security plan for the border between a future Palestinian state and Jordan, involving high-tech equipment to enable Israel to reduce or end its troop presence on the ground, Israeli media say. "King Abdullah and Netanyahu discussed peace process developments in light of the current US-sponsored Israeli-Palestinians peace negotiations," a palace statement sad. An official told AFP the talks took place on Thursday. The palace statement said the meeting "seeks to make sure a progress in the peace talks would meet Palestinian aspirations and at the same time protect Jordanian interests, particularly final status issues at this critical stage." Kerry left the region last week following four days of intense meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, during which he failed to secure an agreement on a framework. The US official coaxed Israelis and Palestinians back into direct negotiations last summer and has since shuttled tirelessly between the two leaderships in a bid to keep the talks alive. Source: AFP