Egyptian, Jordanian FMs discuss efforts to restore Israeli-Palestinian peace process ahead of quartet meeting

CAIRO - Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi on Sunday discussed the efforts to resume the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process ahead of a quartet meeting on the issue.

During a meeting in Cairo, the two top diplomats focused on the ways to support the Palestinian cause, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Shoukry briefed his Jordanian counterpart on the results of Egypt's recent contacts with the various parties concerned with the Palestinian issue, it said.

Shoukry also introduced the ongoing preparations for the next meeting of the quartet group comprising Egypt, Jordan, France and Germany, that will be held in Cairo on Monday, with the aim of restarting the stalled Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations, it added.

The quartet meeting is meant to urge the Palestinian and Israeli sides to negotiate in order to reach a just and comprehensive political settlement based on the two-state solution that ensures the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, according to the statement.

The Israeli-Palestinian peace process has stalled since 2014, after rounds of U.S.-sponsored talks failed to produce a breakthrough. Palestine has cut off ties with the U.S. government under President Donald Trump, who recognized the disputed holy city of Jerusalem as Israeli capital in later 2017, and relocated the U.S. embassy in Israel to the city in May 2018.

Meanwhile, the two ministers exchanged views on bilateral ties as well as regional and international developments, especially in Syria, Libya and Yemen, the statement said.

They underscored the need to stop foreign interference in Arab countries, while highlighting the importance of reaching peaceful solutions to these crises in accordance with the requirements of Arab national security.