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Tillerson says US Mideast peace plan ‘fairly well advanced’

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AMMAN: The US administration’s work on a new Middle East peace plan is “fairly well advanced” and President Donald Trump will decide when to announce it, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday during a visit to Jordan. Tillerson also signed a five-year aid package that extends US support to Jordan.


Commenting on the peace plan, Tillerson said: “I have seen the plan... It’s been under development for a number of months. I have consulted with them on the plan, identified areas that we feel need further work. So I think it will be up to the president to decide when he feels it’s time and he’s ready to put that plan forward. I will say it’s fairly well advanced.”


Trump reversed decades of US policy in December to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and set in motion the process of moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv.


The move triggered outrage in the Arab and Muslim world, and led Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to declare that he would not cooperate with the United States as a mediator.


Trump has threatened to cut off financial aid to countries that backed a UN resolution calling for Washington to reverse its Jerusalem decision. Jordan backed the resolution.


Conflicts in Syria and Iraq have damaged Jordan’s economy, forcing it to borrow heavily from external and domestic sources.


Tillerson is also expected to visit Turkey this week, with which US ties have become badly strained over Washington’s support for the Kurdish YPG militia in Syria.


— Reuters


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