Jordanian King, U.N. Chief Discuss Peace Keeping in LebanonJordanian King Abdullah Bin Hussein and visiting U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan met on Tuesday over the developments in the Middle East peace process, particularly the peace keeping in Lebanon after Israel pulled out its troops.During the talks, Abdullah stressed the U.N. should serve as a monitor to ensure Israel will pull out its last soldier after it claimed a complete withdrawal from south Lebanon last month after 22 years of occupation, said sources close to the meeting. Abdullah and Annan also discussed the latest developments in the peace process between Israeli and Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinians, as well as the U.N. role of promoting the peace talks on all tracks. The meeting was attended by Jordan's Prime Minister Ali Abu Ragheb who was sworn in on Monday. In a separate meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdel Ilah Khatib, Annan commended the active participation of the Jordanian armed forces in U.N. peace keeping efforts in international hot spots and called on other Arab countries to follow suit. The U.N chief arrived earlier in the day for a two-day visit on the fourth leg of his regional tour, which has taken him to Iran, Egypt, Lebanon and will also take him to Syria, Israel and Palestinian self-rule areas. |
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