Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Amman Friday for consultations with Jordan's King Abdullah II, who returned home Thursday from a landmark trip to the United States. Discussions between the two leaders are expected to focus on issues to be discussed by Abbas when he meets with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday, Palestinian ambassador to Jordan Atallah Khairy told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. "The monarch is expected to brief the president on the outcome of his visit to Washington, where he delivered a historic address before the two houses of the US Congress and discussed with (US) President Bush means of re-launching peace talks between the Palestinians and Israelis," Khairy said. In the speech he delivered on Wednesday, King Abdullah appealed to the United States to take the lead to re-establish peace in the Middle East this year. "The goal must be a peace in which all sides gain. It must be anchored in security and opportunity for all," he said. Abbas will also brief the King when he meets him on Saturday on efforts made so far to form a Palestinian national unity government in compliance with the Saudi-brokered Mecca agreement that was concluded between the president's Fatah group and the ruling Hamas movement on February 8, the ambassador added. The Palestinian president said Thursday that "99 per cent" of outstanding issues relating to the formation of the Palestinian coalition government had been already resolved.
