Jordan increases in strategic importance for the United States' policy in the Middle East

Nasser Judeh, the Foreign Minister of Jordan, has been the second Foreign Minister that US Secretary of State John Kerry met with, several days after meeting first with his Canadian counterpart John Baird. US Department of State's Spokesperson Victoria Nuland acknowledged that the welcoming of the Jordanian official showed the government of Jordan plays a key role in the Middle East, especially about the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and the ongoing Syrian crisis.

In fact, Mr Kerry and Mr Judeh have known each other for several years. They interacted in "various meetings in various parts of the world," they "have eaten in the desert of the Wadi Rum," and they "have ridden motorcycles along the Dead Sea," Secretary Kerry reminded in remarks after the bilateral meeting. On the diplomatic stage, he underscored the "very important historic relationship" between the United States and Jordan and described the latest elections in Jordan as "an important milestone."

He pointed out Syria and the afflux of this country's refugees to Jordan as the most pressing issue which the United States has helped to deal with through the sending of USD 52 million in aid. Jordan's "borders are under siege," warned Mr Kerry and it shows "the urgency of continuing the pressure on Syria (…) and of the importance of the global community holding President Bashar al-Assad accountable," he went on to say. Mr Kerry didn't tell much about the Israeli-Palestinian peace process that has been at a standstill for years, except for welcoming Jordan's "commitment to continue to work on that process."

Mr Judeh praised the long experience of Mr Kerry in his former capacity as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and expressed his hope that he and him and their respective countries "will all work very, very closely with each other in the coming phase." The two officials agreed that Syria needs a "political solution" that "respects and preserves the territorial integrity and restores the dignity to the great Syrian people," Mr Judeh said. He expressed his concern about Syria's chemical and biological weapons, saying "there are different scenarios: chemical weapons being used within Syria or being used in countries neighboring Syria or falling into the wrong hands or falling into extremely well-intentioned yet extremely inexperienced hands."

Hence the legitimate right of his country to carefully watch on what's happening in Syria and enhance coordination with all the countries which share a same concern, he explained. On the Middle East peace process, Mr Judeh expects "Secretary Kerry's firsthand knowledge, experience, and insights will provide the much-needed drive to reinvigorate Palestinian-Israeli negotiations leading to the realization of the two-state solution."

There have been seventy thousand dead people in Syria up to now, and the peace process, or rather the diplomatic initiatives, are not going anywhere, said a journalist who attended the two officials' remarks. That's why today Jordan has never been as essential for US foreign policy in the Middle East as it has been in the past. Some optimism however since US officials have highly welcomed the peaceful elections in Jordan, while still fearing for the Hashemite Kingdom's stability due to the massive afflux of refugees.

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