Jordan, the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Egypt on Sunday reiterated their commitment to the “two-state solution” as the only solution to the Israel-PA conflict, the Jordanian news agency Petra reports.
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi met in Amman with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry and Saeb Erekat, the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) executive committee’s secretary general.
The three discussed future steps regarding the peace process, which is a "priority issue" for the region, Safadi was quoted as having told reporters.
During a joint press conference following the meeting, in which the officials reiterated the principles they agreed on in their meeting, Safadi highlighted the commitment to achieving peace as a strategic option, as all Arab states have reaffirmed in the Arab Peace Initiative during the 28th Arab summit recently held in Jordan.
Discussions also included efforts to end the political stalemate by resuming "serious and effective" negotiations to solve the conflict based on the two-state solution.
The officials highlighted the outcomes of recent visits of Jordan’s King Abdullah, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas to the U.S., commending the "positive and constructive" discussions with President Donald Trump on the importance of forging a peaceful solution to the conflict.
"We all value the obvious and solid commitments that President Trump has made to ensure progress in the resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict…We are ready to do whatever it takes to help push the process forward," Safadi said, according to Petra.
The three agreed that the Israel-PA conflict constitutes the basis of turbulence in the region, noting that solving it through negotiations that ensure security and peace for both Palestinian Arabs and Israelis is a prerequisite to achieving regional stability.
Their meeting comes ahead of Trump’s visit to the region on May 22, during which he will meet with both Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Abbas.
It has been speculated that while in Israel, Trump will attempt to organize a meeting with Netanyahu and Abbas.
Abbas indicated this week he was willing to meet with Netanyahu, if the meeting was under the “auspices” of Trump.
Israel-PA peace talks which have been frozen since 2014, when efforts led by then-Secretary of State John Kerry failed after the PA unilaterally applied to join international institutions.
Since that time, Abbas has repeatedly rejected calls by Netanyahu to sit down for direct negotiations, choosing instead to impose preconditions on such talks.