His Majesty King Abdullah met on Thursday with US Secretary of State John Kerry who is visiting the Kingdom as part of a Middle East tour.

The meeting, which was attended by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, dealt with bilateral ties and efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East as well as the latest developments regarding the Syrian crisis.

The two sides discussed Washington-led efforts to revive peace talks between the Palestinians and Israeli based on the two-state solution as the only formula leading to a comprehensive and just solution to the Palestinian issue.

King Abdullah said Jordan will keep pushing to bridge points of view to resume negotiations on all final status issues, cautioning at the same time that Israel’s “stonewalling,” through its unilateral measures and repeated aggressions against Islamic and Christian holy sites, threatens efforts to achieve peace.

His Majesty stressed that the only way to reach peace, security and stability in the Middle East is establishing an independent and viable Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The King also reiterated that the Arab Peace Initiative, which was launched in 2002, still represents a real chance to achieve comprehensive peace in the Middle East.

On the Syrian crisis, His Majesty said Jordan's stand is firm in calling for a comprehensive transitional political solution to end the bloodshed, preserve Syria’s unity and territorial integrity, and limit its catastrophic consequences on the whole region.

The King called on the international community to continue shouldering its responsibility by supporting Jordan’s efforts to provide for more than 500,000 Syrian refugees.

On his part, Kerry briefed the King on Washington's efforts to achieve peace in the region and converge the Palestinians and Israelis’ points of views to have a genuine restart of the peace process.

The US Secretary expressed appreciation for the Kingdom's role in achieving peace and stability in the region, commending Jordan's efforts to provide services to the Syrian refugees on its territories.

Kerry reiterated Washington’s continued support for Jordan and calls on the international community to contribute more and match the huge burdens shouldered by the Kingdom.