His Majesty King Abdullah II held talks in the Kremlin today with Russian President Vladmir Putin on bilateral cooperation and current conditions in the Middle East.
King Abdullah expressed appreciation for President Putin's keen interest in building strong cooperative ties in numerous sectors during his tenure as president of the Russian Federation. He also emphasized that Russia will play an important role in the coming months in supporting regional peace efforts.
The King and President Putin stressed the importance of activating existing bilateral agreements and reaching new agreements that would advance qualitative ties between the two countries in the economic, trade, investment, tourism, air transport services and avoidance of double taxation. King Abdullah highlighted the importance of signing an agreement with Russia this year on the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Talks also addressed Russian support to foster cooperation mechanisms between the G11 group of lower and middle income countries and the G8 during next summer's G8 summit in Japan.
Current developments in the Middle East were a focus of talks between the two leaders. King Abdullah stressed the importance of Russia's role as a member of the international quartet to help Palestinians and Israelis overcome obstacles to the achievement of progress in the peace process and help them find a settlement of all final status issues and establish an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in accordance with international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.
King Abdullah and President Putin discussed the possibility of convening an international conference similar to the meeting held in Annapolis, Maryland, in the United States last November.
King Abdullah warned that unilateralism would have negative repercussions and undermine the future of the peace process. He stressed Jordan's opposition to the collective punishment of civilians.
The two leaders expressed support for the Arab League Initiative to find an acceptable resolution to the political crisis in Lebanon that would lead to presidential elections.
On the situation in Iraq, both leaders renewed their countries' support for national reconciliation among all segments of Iraqi society through inclusion in a comprehensive political process that preserves Iraq's sovereignty and provides a better future for its people.
The meeting was attended by His Royal Highness Prince Faisal Bin Al Hussein, His Royal Highness Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, Chief of the Royal Court Bassem Awadallah, Director of the General Intelligence Department Lieutenant General Mohammad Dahabi, and Jordanian Ambassador to Moscow Abdul Ilah Kurdi.
President Putin was accompanied in the meeting by his Advisor for External Policy Sergey Prikhodko, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Sultanov, Director of External Intelligence Service Mikhail Fradkov, Director of Middle East Affairs at the Foreign Ministry Sergey Vershinin and Russian Ambassador in Amman Alexander Kalugin.
King Abdullah also met First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev, the most likely candidate to succeed Putin as president in Russia's presidential elections scheduled for early March. Their talks addressed bilateral ties and ways to develop them in the interest of both countries. King Abdullah outlined the many opportunities in that regard. Medvedev said that Russia is keen to develop ties with Jordan and expressed appreciation for King Abdullah's efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East.
President Putin visited Jordan in February 2007. Four agreements were signed during that visit to expand the base of cooperation between the public and private sectors in both countries and encourage joint investment projects.
Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Sultanov told the media that King Abdullah's visit to Moscow came at a critical time and reflected the continued contacts between the leadership of Jordan and Russia, which, he said, has contributed to the strengthening of ties between them. He added that the two leaders' meeting was an opportunity to exchange views on developments in the region, especially with regards to peace-making efforts towards a comprehensive resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Sultanov stated that Russia is concerned to advance the peace process and is in constant contact with all parties in the region to prepare for the follow-up meeting to Annapolis held in the US last November.
Ambassador Kurdi said that the summit between King Abdullah and Putin was extremely important and signified the depth of relations between the two countries and the mutual concern to expand and strengthen them, especially in the economic and political fields. He said that both are eager to activate signed agreements.
Kurdi added that Jordan will host an exhibition of Russian industries in March, the seventh such exhibition in the Kingdom. The event will familiarize businessmen from both countries with existing opportunities to establish joint projects.
Kurdi said Russia has good ties with the countries of the region, which can be used to support peace-making efforts.