JORDAN SHARES U.S. VIEWS IN ADVANCE OF DOHA SUMMIT

S E C R E T AMMAN 000777 NOFORN SIPDIS FOR NEA/ELA JOE SCOVITCH AND NEA/ELA E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/26/2019 TAGS: KPAL PGOV PREL AL JO SUBJECT: JORDAN SHARES U.S. VIEWS IN ADVANCE OF DOHA SUMMIT REF: STATE 28323 Classified By: Ambassador R. Stephen Beecroft for reasons 1.4 (b) and ( d) ¶1. (S/NF) Ambassador and Chief of the Royal Court Nasser Lozi discussed on March 24, a day before receiving reftel, shared U.S.-Jordan goals for the Doha Summit. They agreed on the need for Palestinian reconciliation without compromising Quartet principles and continued strong support for the Arab Peace Initiative (API). ¶2. (S/NF) Lozi noted that visiting Syrian President Bashar Al-Asad told the King during their March 20 meeting in Amman that Syria would support the API to avoid giving Israel an excuse not to enter peace negotiations. Asad also told the King that Syria supported a Fatah-Hamas unity government in which officials would be bound to represent the government's positions, while Hamas figures outside of the government could maintain the party's line. ¶3. (S/NF) Ambassador met March 26 with the King, who stated Jordan would seek to prevent the Arab League from making statements that provided cover to Sudan's president. Additionally, the King said Jordan had recently turned down a proposed visit by Sudan's deputy president. ¶4. (SBU) On March 25, Poloff sought to deliver reftel points to the Foreign Minister's assistant office director, but he had already departed Amman for the Arab League Summit in Doha. Poloff then left a non-paper containing the points with Mohammad Tarawneh, acting Deputy Director for International Organization Affairs at the Foreign Ministry. Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman Beecroft