US House Speaker Pelosi holds talks in Jordan with King Abdullah

US House Speaker Pelosi holds talks in Jordan with King Abdullah
October 20, 2019, 7:58 am

Senior members of Congress held talks in Jordan with King Abdullah II and other top Jordanian officials. (File photo AP)

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other senior members of Congress held talks in Jordan on Saturday with King Abdullah II and other top Jordanian officials.

Pelosi said in a statement the visit was at “a critical time for the security and stability of the region...With the deepening crisis in Syria after Turkey’s incursion, our delegation has engaged in vital discussions about the impact to regional stability, increased flow of refugees, and the dangerous opening that has been provided to ISIS, Iran and Russia.”

The US delegation included the heads of key House committees including Foreign Affairs committee chairman Eliot Engel, Homeland Security Committee chairman Bennie Thompson, Intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff and Representative Mac Thornberry, the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee.

The delegation also met Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, Prince Faisal bin Al Hussein, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and other senior Jordanian officials.

“We expressed our continued appreciation for the strategic partnership between the US and Jordan and engaged in a constructive dialogue on regional stability, counter-terrorism, security cooperation, Middle East peace, economic development and other shared challenges,” Pelosi said.

Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday called an agreement between the US and Turkey on a pause in Ankara’s offensive in northeastern Syria a “sham.”

The agreement “seriously undermines the credibility of America’s foreign policy and sends a dangerous message to our allies and adversaries alike that our word cannot be trusted. President Erdogan has given up nothing, and President Trump has given him everything,” Pelosi and Schumer said in a statement.

Congress’s top Democrats said the House of Representatives would vote on a bipartisan sanctions package against Turkey in the coming days.

source:Reuters

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