AMMAN — Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi on Monday underlined the
importance of His Majesty King Abdullah’s visit to the US, during which he will
meet with US President
Joe Biden, US officials, and leaders and members of the
Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Jordan News Agency,
Petra.
اضافة اعلان
Speaking to an interview with Sky News Arabia,
Safadi said the visit is part of the continuous consultation and coordination
between the Kingdom and the US, which is a strategic ally and friend of Jordan.
He added that the discussions during the visit will
cover bilateral relations, “specifically the memorandum of understanding that
we, and the US, are working on to sign, which frames the aid
provided by the
US to Jordan, in addition to regional situations, foremost of
which is the Palestinian issue and the situation in occupied Jerusalem.”
He said that the talks will aim to find a “real
political horizon that will take us towards achieving a just and comprehensive
peace, and end the catastrophic stalemate, the consequences of which have begun
to clearly manifest, with more tension and violence.”
“His Majesty King Abdullah, prior to the
holy month of Ramadan, led intensive efforts to maintain calm and prevent an increase in
tension, and this is his way, as we have always emphasized the respect for the
historical and legal status quo in the Islamic and Christian holy sites in
occupied Jerusalem,” the foreign minister explained.
Any tampering with historical status quo is playing with fire — Safadi
“What we always affirm is that the holy
Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif, with its entire area of 140,000sq.m. is a pure place
of worship for Muslims, and this is based on international law, and history,”
Safadi noted.
Safadi warned that “any tampering with this
historical status quo or any attempt to change this situation is, as we have
always said, playing with fire” that will push the region towards more tension.
“The US has emphasized and demanded respect
for the historical status quo, and this is part of the dialogue that we will
conduct here and that His Majesty the King will speak clearly, and it is part
of efforts that His Majesty has made over the past weeks and months in order to
prevent the outbreak of violence that no one wants,” he said.
“I recall that the League of the United Nations in
1930, the Shaw Committee, affirmed that the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram
Al-Sharif in all its area is a place of worship purely for Muslims, and
Resolution 478 of the UN Security Council said that Israel’s decision to annex
Jerusalem is invalid. Resolution 2334 also affirmed that occupied Jerusalem is
part of the occupied Palestinian territories, and the Hague Convention of 1954
confirmed that Jordan is the responsible authority for holy sites, and the
Geneva Convention of 1949, the Fourth Convention, affirmed that position as
well,” Safadi said.
He added,
“Therefore, any action that contradicts the historical situation or tries to
impose new facts on the ground is a legally invalid decision, and a decision
that has serious political and security repercussions.”
Safadi underscored the need to respect the role of
the Islamic Awqaf Department in Jerusalem and the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs,
which is affiliated with the Jordanian Awqaf Ministry, as the body that has the
exclusive authority to manage all affairs of the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram
Al-Sharif.”
He said that “Israel, as the occupying power, is
responsible and legally obligated to maintain the historical and legal status
quo.”
“There is the
UNRWA issue, which suffers from a
severe lack of funding, and therefore mobilizing support for UNRWA and
providing it with the necessary support to continue carrying out its tasks with
regard to the Palestinian refugees is a priority for His Majesty, and that
there is also the issue of Syrian refugees, about 1.3 million of them living in
Jordan, and the international support for them is constantly declining,” the
foreign minister said.
“What we are saying is that refugees are not the
responsibility of host countries only, but rather an international
responsibility and the whole world must bear this responsibility because host
countries won’t be able to provide the decent life that refugees deserve,”
Safadi explained.
On the
Syrian crisis, Safadi said: “Unfortunately,
there is still no real effort to resolve the Syrian crisis. The crisis has
lasted for more than 11 years leaving millions of victims, with catastrophic
consequences for the Syrian people first, and for the entire region.
Consequently, what we say in Jordan is that there must be a real movement in
order to push towards a political solution to the crisis, because there is no
alternative to a political solution, and there must be a collective Arab role
in order to reach this solution.”
He stressed that “it is unreasonable for everyone to
sit at the table except for Arab countries, which are more affected by the
crisis now and in the future.
Safadi explained that there is a great discussion
between
Arab countries and the international community to “reactivate a
political effort that will lead us towards solving the Syrian crisis, so that
Syria would restore its security, stability, health and role in the region, and
also would create conditions that allow the voluntary return of refugees to
their homeland.”
Safadi said that the decision to freeze Syria’s membership
in the Arab League is an Arab League decision, and therefore the reinstatement
decision is a joint Arab one, and there is no decision so far, and we are waiting
for what the Arab decision will be in this regard.
Read more National news
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
