Jordan to affirm ‘unfaltering stance’ on Palestine in Warsaw

AMMAN — Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi on Wednesday said that Jordan is participating in Warsaw’s ministerial meeting to reiterate its unfaltering stance that there will be no comprehensive peace without realising Palestinians’ legitimate rights to freedom and statehood along the June 4, 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Safadi arrived in Warsaw, Poland, on Wednesday to represent Jordan in the 70-nation summit coorganised by Poland and the US under the title “Ministerial to Promote a Future of Peace and Security in the Middle East”.

Safadi said that the Kingdom’s participation in the two-day summit came upon an invitation from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz.

During a telephone interview with Al Mamlaka TV on Wednesday evening, the foreign minister added that there is no greater danger to the region’s security than the persistence of occupation and the absence of prospects for ending it, a Foreign Ministry statement said.

He pointed out the necessity of the Jordanian presence to emphasise Jordan’s “firm and steadfast stances” on ways to deal with the challenges of the region, in order to achieve security and stability therein, and solve the crises that “greatly affect us”.

“We are here to make it clear that we have a firm position that the Palestinian issue is the basis of conflicts in the region and that there is no security, no peace, no stability in the region, without resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in a way that ends the occupation and meets all the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost of which is the right to statehood on the June 4, 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” Safadi said responding to a question on Jordan’s message to Warsaw’s conference, adding that there is no greater danger than the survival of the occupation and the lack of prospects for its demise. 

He also referred to the full and continuous coordination with the Palestinians.

Safadi added that Jordan brings to the discussions a strong and clear voice, as well as a firm stance in support of all Palestinian rights, affirming Jordan’s permanent, non-negotiable position that “no one negotiates on behalf of the Palestinians and no one speaks for them”.

The top diplomat also said that when Jordan is present, “the fully harmonised Jordanian-Palestinian position is also present”, which affirms that a just solution to the Palestinian issue is the only way to achieve security and comprehensive peace in the region, according to the statement.

On his expectations of what the US will put forward in regard to the their undisclosed plan for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Safadi said “we will wait and see”, stressing that Jordan does not know the details of the US proposed plan, and that the Americans have not informed any party of it.

“But the Americans and the entire world know well Jordan’s position..., namely, there is no solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that can stand the test of time and no comprehensive peace can be achieved unless the legitimate Palestinian rights are restored,” he added.

When asked what Jordan can achieve in light of the polarised stands of participants in the Warsaw meeting, Safadi said that in the presence of 70 nations, Jordan has a good opportunity to reiterate its constant positions and present ideas and visions that can actually lead to real peace. 

Jordan will also reaffirm its stances on other regional issues, he said, like its call to end the “catastrophe in Syria” through a peaceful solution and the impact of the Syrian refugee crisis on Jordan as a major host. 

However, he concluded, the core issue is Palestine refugees’ right to return and compensation.

US Vice President Mike Pence and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also arrived in Warsaw on Wednesday for the conference that they hope will raise the international stakes for Iran, AFP reported.

But the two-day conference will also lay bare divisions, with major European allies of the United States sending low-profile representatives amid unease over President Donald Trump’s strident calls to strangle Iran’s economy.

The United States is expected to offer hints of its proposals for peace between Israel and the Palestinians during the ministerial.

US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner, who has been putting the final touches on a “deal of the century” for the Middle East, will make a rare speaking appearance on Thursday, according to AFP.

Pence and Pompeo will join the Polish government in welcoming officials at a dinner at the Royal Castle in Warsaw’s old town, the home for centuries to monarchs. 

While much of the schedule remained vague, the main session will take place on Thursday when Pence, Pompeo and Netanyahu all deliver remarks and working groups are assigned to discuss areas of concern, the news agency added.

“This is a global coalition that is built to deliver on the important mission of reducing the risk that has emanated from the Middle East for far too long,” Pompeo said on Tuesday evening as he opened his visit to Poland.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt is the only major European diplomat to come to Warsaw, but he is attending primarily to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, where several million people are on the brink of starvation, according to AFP.

Hunt will participate in a four-way meeting Wednesday evening with Pompeo, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have waged a devastating US-backed military campaign against Yemen’s Iranian-linked Houthi rebels.

Russia is shunning the conference and will hold parallel talks on Thursday in the resort of Sochi with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Syria, where Trump is planning to withdraw US troops.

In Warsaw, Turkey said it will only send embassy staff to the conference among its NATO allies.