Head of the House Foreign Affairs C'tee Ros-Lehtinen meets Jordan's Abdullah to discuss Israel-PA talks.
By JPOST.COM STAFFRos-Lehtinen 311(photo credit: REUTERS/Joe Skipper)
A prominent US lawmaker urged Jordan to name a new ambassador to Israel on Wednesday, AFP reported.Speaking in a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah in Washington, US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said that "Jordan has not yet appointed an ambassador to Israel in the year and a half since the previous ambassador moved on, and I would strongly encourage you to do so." RELATED:PA skeptical as 3rd round of Amman talks beginPA to take issue of settlement building to UNSC The two leaders also discussed the Israeli Palestinian peace talks currently taking place in Amman, AFP reported. On Tuesday, Abdullah said of the negotiations that "I am cautious about saying that I’m cautiously optimistic,” adding that “the responsibility is on all of us to bring the parties close enough together so the Americans can step in and finalize the deal.”During their meeting, Ros-Lehtinen welcomed Abdullah's view that Syrian President Bashar Assad should leave office. "I share that view because Iran is certainly doing all it can to keep Syria afloat but the people are rising up," AFP quoted her as saying.Ros-Lehtinen recently completed a tour of the Middle East that included Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.
