Jordan on Friday welcomed US President Barack Obama's call for the establishment of a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders, saying it hoped the speech would lead to an immediate resumption of direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians, DPA reported.
"Obama's assertion that the establishment of a fully independent Palestinian state with the 1967 lines as its borders and which has frontiers with Jordan, Israel and Egypt is of paramount importance," Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said.
"This is the first time an American president states unequivocally the US vision of an independent Palestinian state within the June 4, 1967, borders," he said.
Obama Thursday advocated a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders but with land swaps between the two sides. He said the swaps could take into account changes along the border since Israel took over the West Bank in the Six-Day War.
Judeh pointed out that King Abdullah II, who just concluded a US visit, had stressed the need during his talks with Obama for "a speedy recognition of the two-state solution in the light of the recent changes in the region so as to prevent the [Middle East] from sliding into a fresh cycle of tension and instability."
"Jordan now hopes that Obama's speech will spark immediate and tangible measures by the United States and the world community to create the suitable atmosphere for the resumption of serious negotiations" that tackle the final status issues, including borders, the status of Jerusalem and refugees, Judeh said.
Obama did not address those other key issues in his speech, made about the broader US perspective in the Middle East after mass uprisings against long ruling regimes and the ousting of the governments in Egypt and Tunisia.