His Majesty King Abdullah II met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert who arrived on a short visit to the Kingdom as part of the King's efforts to support the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.

His Majesty stressed, during the meeting, the need for negotiations to lead to an agreement based on the two-state solution before the end of this year, as per commitments made by the parties at the Annapolis conference in November 2007. The agreement, he added should address all final status issues and result in the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

King Abdullah added that achieving peace requires advancing negotiations within clear mechanisms and specific timelines.

His Majesty called on Prime Minister Olmert to work towards improving the daily living conditions of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Prime Minister Olmert briefed King Abdullah on the negotiations and expressed appreciation for the King's efforts to ensure progress and achieve peace between the Palestinians and Israel.