His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday received a letter from Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on the latest developments in the region, particularly challenges facing peace efforts.

The letter was delivered by Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abul Gheit and Director of Egypt's General Intelligence Directorate Lt. General Omar Suleiman, with whom King Abdullah discussed on-going efforts to overcome obstacles to the resumption of direct Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.

The two sides agreed that talks should be based on clear terms of reference that address all final status issues to arrive at a two-state solution that guarantees the establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian state on Palestinian national soil living in peace beside Israel as soon as possible.

The King stressed that creating an appropriate environment to re-launch direct negotiations requires the halt of all provocative unilateral measures that threaten the talks, particularly Israeli settlement activities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

King Abdullah also highlighted the need to intensify international and regional efforts to achieve tangible progress towards resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, warning that failure to achieve peace will keep the region hostage to tension and violence.

He also stressed the need to continue coordination and consultation between Jordan and Egypt to build unified positions in order to boost inter-Arab cooperation to face regional challenges.

The talks, attended by King's Adviser Ayman Safadi, Director of the General Intelligence Department Lt. General Mohammad Raqqad and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, also covered bilateral relations.