Jordan's King Abdullah II urged international support for upcoming Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations, saying Monday that talks due Dec. 12 must build on the successful outcome of the international summit held in the United States last week, according to AP. Abdullah said during a closed-door meeting with visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that Palestinians and Israelis «must seize the opportunity provided by the Annapolis, Maryland, peace conference to achieve tangible progress in their peacemaking,» according to a royal palace statement. He said it was necessary that the negotiations, slated to open Dec. 12, would «lead to the establishment of a viable Palestinian state on their national soil in the West Bank and Gaza Strip,» the statement added. Abbas, who arrived from Saudi Arabia on his way back to the West Bank, briefed the Jordanian king on the outcome of his talks with U.S. administration officials on the sidelines of the meeting in Annapolis, the palace statement said. It did not provide other details. Separately, Abdullah told visiting Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov that the Annapolis meeting constitutes a «starting point» for Palestinian statehood. Parvanov is on a three-day state visit to Jordan, where several agreements with Bulgaria were signed, including one which envisions close police cooperation in the two countries.
