His Majesty King Abdullah met on Wednesday with US President Barack Obama ahead of a wide-ranging meeting scheduled later in the day that was to bring together top leaders involved in the Mideast peace process.

During King Abdullah's one-on-one meeting with the US president, the two leaders discussed steps that should be taken to create a proper environment for successful talks.

They stressed that such an environment should guarantee swift and effective progress in the one-year talks, leading to a peace deal between the Palestinians and Israel and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state that lives in peace and security with Israel as soon as possible.

King Abdullah voiced appreciation of the commitment Obama and his administration have shown for efforts to reach a permanent and comprehensive solution to the Middle East conflict, stressing the need for collective efforts to make peace, which he described as the only way to guarantee the security of the countries in the region and a regional and international strategic interest.

Obama praised the role Jordan is playing in the peacemaking efforts.

The two leaders were later joined by officials from both sides, including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, chief of the US National Security Council James Jones, Obama's special peace envoy to Middle East, George Mitchell and his deputy, David Hale.

Present at the meeting from the Jordanian side were Royal Court Chief Nasser Lozi, King's Adviser Ayman Safadi and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh.