King: Roadmap is still the sole opportunity to realize peace

Amman
31 May 2004

His Majesty King Abdullah II Monday affirmed the roadmap peace plan is still the sole opportunity to establish peace in the region and Israeli will never enjoy peace and security as long as it continues occupying the Palestinian land.



In an interview with Director of Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) office in Amman Masha'a al-Sarheed, King Abdullah said it is regrettable to see Israel impeding the implementation of the roadmap items.



The Jordanian-Kuwaiti relations are red lines and we'll never allow anyone to infringe on them, said King Abdullah on the eve of his visit to Kuwait.



Referring to the situation in Iraq, King Abdullah said "it is up to the Iraqis and to the Iraqis alone to decide how long the occupation forces could stay in Iraq." The King reiterated that Jordan would never send troops to Iraq under any circumstances.



On the joint Arab action and the disagreements among Arab states before and after the Arab summit in Tunis, King Abdullah said several issues marred the united Arab position and the joint Arab action. At the top of these is the occupation of Iraq, the tragic situation in the Palestinian areas, and the escalation of terrorist acts, King Abdullah said.



The King, we who starts a two-day visit to Kuwait on Tuesday, strongly condemned all forms of terrorism and called for a staunch Arab stand to fight terrorism and eradicated all its sources. In this context, King Abdullah denounced recent terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia and affirmed Jordan's total support to Saudi brothers.



On his visit to Kuwait, King Abdullah said the visit comes within the continuous consultation and coordination with Kuwaiti brothers. He said he would listen to Emir of Kuwait and other Kuwaiti officials' views on the ongoing events in the region particularly in Iraq and Palestine.



Economic and trade cooperation between Jordan and Kuwait would figure high during the visit, King Abdullah said. That is why a business delegation from the private sector will accompany the king on the visit for talks with their Kuwaiti counterparts on economic and investment cooperation.



King Abdullah said there is a wide range of investment opportunities in Jordan particularly success stories of Kuwaiti investment projects in the Kingdom, which have become the biggest in Arab and foreign investment we have.



The King expressed deep thanks to Kuwait for its oil grant to Jordan that lasted for one year and ended last April and helped Jordan surmount the oil crisis after halt in Iraq oil supply to the Kingdom.



Whether the talks in Kuwait will cover the oil grant, King Abdullah said we will discuss all issues with Kuwaiti brothers to further boost bilateral relations.



"I am a career soldier, who likes work and building. I don't like politics but it's imposed on me. And therefore, I'm striving to build strong economic relations between our countries in particular and with the Arab countries in general," King Abdullah said.



"Kuwait never stands short of supporting Jordan and all Arabs and it has stood with us in the most difficult times," King Abdullah said.



"Kuwait's support to Jordan and the Arab states never stops," he added.



He said coordination with Kuwait on the situation in Iraq never came to a halt. "Jordan and Kuwait are neighbors to Kuwait and the future of Iraq, its stability an security are part of our priorities," King Abdullah said. Talks with the Kuwaiti officials will cover development of events kin Iraq particularly regarding the formation of a new government led by Iyad Alawi, which we see as step to convey power to the Iraqi people," King Abdullah said. "The future of Iraq should be in the hand of the Iraqis away from foreign intervention," the King said. He hoped that choosing Alawi for the new government would be a new opportunity on the road to build Iraq and restore stability to this country. " We accept what the Iraqis accept," King Abdullah said in reply to a question.



King Abdullah reaffirmed Jordan's rejection to send troops to Iraq under the UN umbrella. "We are not at all ready to send our troops to Iraq," King Abdullah said noting Jordan's support to the Iraqis in other different ways.



On future relation with Iraq, King Abdullah said " We feel we are the closest to Iraq and we have very close and longstanding historical relations and therefore we are keen on keeping close and strong economic and political relations with this country."




On the Palestinian issue and whether the U.S. would honor its commitment to the Arabs and the Palestinians, King Abdullah said the U.S. Administration has made it clear to us that its stance regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has not changed. " I think the content of the U.S. letter of assurances to us goes in line with what the Arabs ask for," said the King,
noting that he was satisfied with these assurances. According President Bush's letter, the final status issues will be left for the concerned parties and peace negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis will be based on Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 and that the talks would eventually lead to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, King Abdullah said.



King Abdullah said he felt sorry that Israel continues to impede implementation of the roadmap peace plan under the excuse that the Palestinians are not yet ready to make peace with them.



"Israel should realize that it would never enjoy peace and security as long as it continues occupying the Arab land," King Abdullah said.



In reply to a question on terrorist acts against Jordan, King Abdullah said lessons from the past years proved that no one is safe from terrorism.



Terrorists are enemies of freedom and noble values. Terrorism targets Jordan because Jordan believes in the Islamic religion's principles of tolerance and because it adopts policy of moderation, said King Abdullah who strongly denounced terrorist acts in the name of
religion and urged Arab countries to unite their position in their drive to combat terrorism.



On reform plans in Jordan, King Abdullah said Jordan aims to set a model not only in democracy but rather in education and successful economy, whose effect can be felt by ordinary people to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor.



On his participation in the Group-8 summit in Washington, next month, King Abdullah said we would call upon these countries to back up reform plans in coordination with all parties in the region and to offer true assistance to the region. " The aim of reform should be to improve living standards and the quality of life," King Abdullah said.