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 Jordan king urges greater EU role for Mideast peace

Sun Sep 2, 9:49 AM ET

AMMAN (AFP) - Jordan's King Abdullah II called for the European Union to bridge differences between Israel and the Palestinians ahead of a US-sponsored peace conference in talks on Sunday with visiting Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi.

"King Abdullah II and Prodi stressed the importance of increased efforts by the European Union to support peace in the Middle East and bring back the Palestinians and the Israelis to the negotiations table," a palace statement said.

"It is necessary to bring closer the points of view between the Palestinians and Israelis in light of US President George W. Bush's call for an international peace conference for the Middle East," the king was quoted as saying.

On Friday, the king, who is a close US ally, called on the Palestinians to close ranks and let "reason prevail" in order to benefit from the international conference, expected to take place in November.

Prodi said at the start of his visit to the kingdom on Saturday that his government would do everything to make the conference a success.

"We are very positively engaged in the conference that will be held next November," he told reporters after meeting his Jordanian counterpart Maaruf Bakhit.

But the Italian prime minister warned that Palestinian divisions would undermine future moves for peace with Israel.

"I feel that the divisions between the Palestinians will not help the peace process. I am sure that the Palestinian divisions will bring negative consequences to any future development in the area," Prodi said.

The Islamist Hamas movement captured the Gaza Strip on June 15 from the secular Fatah forces of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, effectively splitting Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

After his talks with the Prodi, the king left for Paris, where he is due to meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy on similar talks on Monday.

Jordan king urges greater EU role for Mideast peace (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070902/wl_mideast_afp/mideastjordanitalydiplomacy;_ylt=AkwWMACajgmspwJ93F4k2Jd0bBAF)