Jerusalem, December 2, 2003 FM Silvan Shalom meets with Jordanian FM Muasher (Communicated by the Foreign Minister’s Bureau) ŠGPO/Moshe Milner Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom replied in the affirmative to an invitation, extended by Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Jamil Al-Muasher at the Barcelona Conference in Naples, to visit Jordan at the end of the month
– Dec 2, 2003 . At the end of the meeting with his Jordanian counterpart, Foreign Minister Shalom said that Israel and Jordan, which recently celebrated a decade of diplomatic relations, share common interests and that it is important to encourage ties between the two countries. He added that Jordan has a central role to play in regional stability and in the peace process, and that King Abdullah in particular is making a constructive contribution to the process. During their meeting, the two ministers discussed bilateral issues such as renewal of the activities of the Eilat-Aqaba Committee and economic issues. Foreign Minister Shalom noted that it would facilitate the strengthening of bilateral relations if the Jordanian ambassador would be returned to Israel. Regarding the peace process with the Palestinians, the Minister stressed that Israel is committed to the Roadmap, which is the only program that will advance both sides. In response to a question from a journalist, Foreign Minister Shalom said that positive words for peace are always encouraging, but words alone are not enough – we would like to see actions. Accordingly, the fact that Syria is talking about peace is not enough. It must put a stop to the terrorist actions that originate from its territory and halt the arms shipments that are being transferred from Iran to the Hizbullah. If Syria will do this, and will be willing to negotiate with Israel without preconditions, the government of Israel will certainly weigh the possibilities with all due seriousness.
