Jordan and Russia on Friday denounced Israel's use of force and live ammunition in the Palestinian territories and called for an urgent halt to the deadly violence.
"Jordan and Russia share the same views and agree on denouncing Israel's use of force against the Palestinian people," Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdel Ilah al-Khatib told a news conference with Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov.
"There is no justification for the use of force which is the main reason for the deteriorating situation in the Palestinian territories," Khatib said.
"Calm can only be achieved through measures to stop the use of force, the killings and the use of live ammunition ... in order to resume the negotiating process," he said.
Speaking after a meeting between Ivanov and Jordan's King Abdullah II, the foreign minister insisted that a "political solution" was the key to restoring peace in the region.
"There is no security solution, only a political one to emerge from this situation," Khatib said.
Ivanov also appealed for an end to the seven-weeks of violence that has claimed more than 230 lives -- most of them Arabs killed by Israeli gunfire.
"It is necessary to stop this dangerous situation which threatens not only the interests of the region but can have widespread repercussions" in other parts of the world, he said through an interpreter.
Earlier Ivanov delivered a message to King Abdullah from Russian President Vladimir Putin about the situation in the Palestinian territories, Iraq and bilateral ties.
He also briefed him on his talks in Israel and the Palestinian territories, two stops on his seven-day regional tour that has already taken him to Iraq and Egypt as well.
Petra news agency quoting Abdullah as reiterating his condemnation of the violence against the Palestinian people.
Ivanov meanwhile repeated Russia's desire to see the United Nations lift 10-year sanctions on Iraq imposed after the 1990 invasion of Kuwait as well as an end to US and British air raids on Iraq.
The Russian foreign minister goes on from Amman to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia where he said he would discuss with officials there "confidence building measures" to restore trust between Iraq and the Arab Gulf states.
"It is in the interest of Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries to turn the Gulf into a zone of stability and I will discuss these issues during my visits to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia," he said through his interpreter -- AMMAN (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
