Jordan's King 'concerned' over growing risk of ISIS

King Abdullah II of Jordan yesterday described the recent developments in Iraq as “a source of concern” pointing to the need to seek a political process involving all components of the Iraqi people, without exception, Anadolu news agency reported a statement by the Royal Court as saying.

“The crisis in Syria has shown us that transnational terrorists have no regard for borders… as well as the challenge we face when those terrorist organisations or those extremists return back to their host countries,” King Abdullah said in Berlin.

King Abdullah was speaking following talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel where they discussed ways to develop bilateral relations between Jordan and Germany and the latest developments in the Middle East, especially in Syria and Iraq.

“It is important that in Iraq all religious groups and sections of the society are involved in a dialog and rapidly form a government,” Merkel stressed. “By doing so, the state of Iraq can be strengthened against the fundamentalists and extremists.”

“We are the third largest refugee host country in the world,” Kind Abdullah said. “It seems unfair that Jordan should bear this major responsibility by ourselves and we are looking to the international community to assist us so that we can continue to be an island of stability in this volatile region,” he stressed.

Merkel told reporters: “We believe that the war in Syria and the conflicts in Iraq can only be solved through political solutions to achieve long-term stability.”

Jordan and Syria share a 375 kilometre border. More than a million Syrians have fled the conflict in their countries to Jordan.

Regarding the Palestinian issue, the King said: “It is very important that we support US Secretary of State John Kerry who is working to solve the core issue in the region, and we hope now to have the opportunity once again to re-launch negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

“I would like to stress that it is important that there are no unilateral decisions which lead to provocations in the holy places in Jerusalem, specifically in Islamic and Christian places of worship.”