| Advertisement |
April 5 (UPI) -- U.S. President Donald Trump and Jordanian King Abdullah II are expected to talk about the Middle East peace process during a meeting and joint press conference Wednesday at the White House. Trump will welcome Abdullah and Queen Rania in the morning before addressing the media at 1:10 p.m.
Advertisement
The meeting comes one week after the Jordanian leader hosted an Arab summit offering Israel recognition by dozens of Arab and Muslim nations in exchange for Palestinian statehood.
This renewal of an offer first discussed in 2002 could kickstart Israeli-Palestinian talks, a move the Trump administration would welcome. USA Today reported Jason Greenblatt, Trump's international envoy, told the Arab leaders at the conference last week that the U.S. president believes a deal could be reached.
Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February at the White House. The U.S. president said he encourages a peace deal and would welcome either a one-state or two-state solution, whichever makes both Israelis and Palestinians "happy."
Meanwhile, in a 2015 campaign speech detailing his plans to battle radical Islamists, Trump said he would work with Abdullah to call for an international conference on the subject.
"We will work side-by-side with our friends in the Middle East, including our greatest ally, Israel," he said at a Youngstown, Ohio, rally. "We will partner with King Abdullah of Jordan, and President [Abdel Fattah al-Sisi] of Egypt, and all others who recognize this ideology of death that must be extinguished.
