His Majesty King Abdullah II met with US Secretary of State Colin Powell and discussed with him efforts being exerted to revive the peace process, the situation in Iraq as well as bilateral relations and US aid provided for Jordan.



The King outlined with Powell the Israeli plan to withdraw from Gaza, noting that this withdrawal should be followed by withdrawal from the West Bank as stipulated in the Roadmap, with a view to establish an independent Palestinian state within borders of June 1967.



His Majesty pointed that Jordan will provide every possible assistance to the Palestinians, particularly in the field of training police cadre in order to enable them perform their role after the end of occupation.



In addition, the King and Powell reviewed developments in Iraq in the light of the ongoing preparations to hand over power for the Iraqis to run their affairs at the end of June.



The King stressed the importance of protecting the Iraqi people, noting that the current deteriorating situation in Iraq forms a danger on the future of Iraq and its integrity. "Granting the Iraqi people full sovereignty will promote security opportunities and contribute to creating stable climate in Iraq," the King said.



On the other hand, the King and Powell outlined the outcome of the G-8 summit, held last week in Georgia. Powell expressed appreciation for King Abdullah over his contributions to the summit, which mainly focused on the reform in the Middle East.



Talks were attended by a number of Jordanian and US senior officials.



The King also met with Condoliza Rice, the US National Security Council Advisor to the President and discussed with her the regional situation as well as bilateral relations.



The King also met with the US Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld, and discussed with him bilateral relations and the coalition forces' plan to hand over power to Iraqis by June 30.