2/3/2015
Jordanian King Travels to U.S. in Unannounced Visit
AMMAN – King Abdullah II of Jordan left Amman on Monday for a previously unscheduled visit to the United States, his second trip to Washington in two months to meet with senior American officials and legislators.
The monarch will discuss the “latest regional and international developments as well as means of boosting bilateral ties” with officials and a number of chairmen and members of committees in both houses of Congress, a royal statement said on Monday.
He is also scheduled to meet with prominent leaders of the Arab and Islamic communities in the United States, it added.
The statement did not give further details, but diplomatic sources told EFE that developments in the war against the Islamic State militia and other terrorist groups were expected to top King Abdullah’s talks, as Jordan is a member of the U.S.-led military coalition against the IS.
The latest dispute between Jordan and the IS over the release of the Jordanian pilot held captive by the IS, Muath Kasasbeh, is also expected to be high on the agenda of the monarch’s discussions in Washington, they added.
The United States reportedly opposed swapping Kasasbeh for the convicted Iraqi suicide bomber Sajedah Al-Rishawy, contending that such a move would encourage the terrorist group to put further pressures on states of the region.
But Jordanian politicians and academics argued that the United States had freed five Taliban leaders in exchange for an American soldier taken captive by the Taliban.
The Jordanian government has offered to exchange Al-Rishawy for Kasasbeh, but demanded first that the IS prove the Jordanian pilot, whose jet fighter was downed over the Syrian area of Raqqa on Dec. 24, is still alive.
Four days after the offer was made, the terrorist group has failed to provide the evidence.
source
Jordanian King Travels to U.S. in Unannounced Visit
AMMAN – King Abdullah II of Jordan left Amman on Monday for a previously unscheduled visit to the United States, his second trip to Washington in two months to meet with senior American officials and legislators.The monarch will discuss the “latest regional and international developments as well as means of boosting bilateral ties” with officials and a number of chairmen and members of committees in both houses of Congress, a royal statement said on Monday.
He is also scheduled to meet with prominent leaders of the Arab and Islamic communities in the United States, it added.
The statement did not give further details, but diplomatic sources told EFE that developments in the war against the Islamic State militia and other terrorist groups were expected to top King Abdullah’s talks, as Jordan is a member of the U.S.-led military coalition against the IS.
The latest dispute between Jordan and the IS over the release of the Jordanian pilot held captive by the IS, Muath Kasasbeh, is also expected to be high on the agenda of the monarch’s discussions in Washington, they added.
The United States reportedly opposed swapping Kasasbeh for the convicted Iraqi suicide bomber Sajedah Al-Rishawy, contending that such a move would encourage the terrorist group to put further pressures on states of the region.
But Jordanian politicians and academics argued that the United States had freed five Taliban leaders in exchange for an American soldier taken captive by the Taliban.
The Jordanian government has offered to exchange Al-Rishawy for Kasasbeh, but demanded first that the IS prove the Jordanian pilot, whose jet fighter was downed over the Syrian area of Raqqa on Dec. 24, is still alive.
Four days after the offer was made, the terrorist group has failed to provide the evidence.
source
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