Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdul-Ilah Khatib plans to travel to Israel in the coming days to meet with his counterpart, Shimon Peres, and discuss a Jordanian-Egyptian plan for ending the violence and resuming Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, reported The Jerusalem Post newspaper.
"We will have contacts with the Israelis, and I may go meet with Minister Peres, and be in touch with the Israeli side in the coming few days," Khatib told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday in an interview after King Abdullah II's meeting with President George W. Bush at the White House.
He said he would meet Peres in Israel.
Khatib, who was due to return to the region Tuesday night, said preparations for a meeting had already begun.
He and Peres spoke before the Jordanian delegation arrived in Washington and have remained in contact throughout the week, the paper quoted him as saying.
Asked specifically when the meeting may take place, Khatib said: "We'll arrange it. It should be mutually convenient for both of us."
King Abdullah discussed the Jordanian-Egyptian plan with US officials throughout the week, said the Post, but Khatib said the main objective was to get the Israelis on board.
Khatib was reluctant to detail the plan, but sources briefed on it said the ideas reflected more or less the ideas put forth by the Americans - that the sides should take reciprocal steps to end the violence, avoid unilateral provocative steps, and resume peace talks as quickly as possible.
"We are talking about creating the right conditions so both parties can start working together and start creating the right conditions for the resumption of the peace process. There is a variety of measures that should be taken," Khatib said.
If the visit takes place, it will be the first by a senior Arab official since the collapse of the Camp David talks last year, said the Post.
Asked if the Jordanians had raised the idea of a White House invitation for Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in their meetings with Bush and other senior administration officials, Khatib said: "I don't think people are talking about that as much as looking for the right context and the right time." – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
