Jordan, Turkey discuss bilateral ties, regional developments

Jordan's Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh on Wednesday held talks with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutuglo that focused on the current events in Syria and means to ensure swift and effective way out of the crisis to end the bloodshed and bring about security and aspired reforms. Judeh told a joint press conference with Davutuglo, that Jordan had called since the start of unrest in Syria to end all forms of violence, listen to reason and implement effective reforms to preserve the safety of the Syrian people and the security and stability of their country, Jordan Petra news agency reported. Syria is an important neighbor to both Jordan and Turkey with strong ties, Judeh said, reiterating the Kingdom''s regret and rejection of the continued killings and escalation in its northern neighbor. He referred to a phone conversation two days ago between Prime Minister Marouf Al Bakhit and his Syrian counterpart Adel Safar in which Bakhit urged a halt for military operations and the bloodshed in Syria. The minister added that the Prime Minister told his Syrian counterpart that there is growing international outrage over what is going on in Syria and that the world is unanimous on the rejection of such scenes which should stop immediately. Judeh commended Turkey''s efforts to end the regretful and painful situation in Syria. The Turkish minister demanded that the military operations and bloodshed must stop in all Syrian cities, affirming his country''s support to the demands of the Syrian people. "Forming a joint regional stance is one of the most important elements for dealing with this issue." Davutuglo added. On bilateral ties, Judeh said he discussed with Davutuglo ways to cement relations in various domains and highlighted Jordan''s reform endeavours, referring to the constitutional amendments King Abdullah announced few days ago. The two also tackled efforts underway to make headway in peacemaking efforts in the Middle East and end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of the two-state solution that guarantees the establishment of a sovereign and independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. They affirmed that any peace settlement should address all final status issues at the forefront of which are Jerusalem, the refugees, security, and borders in accordance with international terms of reference, namely the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh attended an urgent meeting for the Organization of Islamic Conference OIC to discuss famine-stricken Somalia. Judeh told the meeting, held on foreign ministers level, that Jordan is about to send urgent humanitarian and medical aid to the Somali people