Foreign minister, envoy discuss French peace proposals on mideast

Deputy Premier, Minister of Foreign and Expatriates Affairs, Nasser Judeh, discussed with France's special envoy for the Middle East peace process, Pierre Vimont, Sunday, French proposals to breathe new life into the stalled Middle East peace process.

The envoy is visiting to brief Jordanian officials about Paris' attempts to revive Palestinian-Israeli peace talks and coordinate with Amman following last week's phone conversation between the foreign minister and his French counterpart.

Judeh and the French diplomat agreed that all concerned parties should work to create the conditions conducive to achieving the two-state solution.

The minister reiterated Jordan's support to all efforts that embodied the two-state solution to set up an independent state along the lines of June 4, 1967 East Jerusalem as its capital.

The Palestinian issue, Judeh stressed, is the core issue in the region and will remain so, emphasising the need for a just and comprehensive solution in line with the terms of reference of the peace process, international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.

All outstanding issues, he said, should be resolved on those bases "in a way to fulfill and safeguard the higher national Jordanian interests linked to those issues, particularly Jerusalem and refugees". Vimont outlined the French proposals to resume the moribund peace process under international auspices, underlining Paris' keen interest to coordinate and cooperate with Jordan in this context, stressing the Kingdom as a pivot in the peace process as its interests are linked with a final solution.

Source ; Petra