Germany's chancellor and Jordan's king underlined the urgency of using a window of opportunity to move toward Israeli-Palestinian peace, AP reported. Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, met King Abdullah II before a trip to the Middle East next week and a meeting Feb. 2 of the so-called Quartet of Middle East peace brokers. Jordan's King Abdullah said their discussion «centered on the need to take advantage of the opportunity that exists today to push Middle East peace.» «There is now international consensus about the dangers of failing to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the core conflict in our region,» he said at a news conference. He also expressed his «appreciation» to Merkel for Germany's role in pushing for a revival of the Quartet _ the U.S., the EU, Russia and the U.N. _ whose meeting will explore ways of reinvigorating peacemaking.
