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EU states believe in importance of maintaining Jordan’s stability — Polish official

By Raed Omari - Jun 15,2014 - Last updated at Jun 15,2014

AMMAN — All EU member states see Jordan moving steadily and progressively towards political reform with a shared conviction of the need to safeguard the Kingdom’s security and stability amidst a turbulent region, Polish Senator Bogdan Klich said.

Klich, a former defence minister, added that preserving the stability and security of Jordan and Morocco is in the interest of the EU, which will invest in the two countries’ political programmes to ensure their prosperity and welfare.

Speaking at a seminar on Saturday at Al Rai Centre for Studies, Klich said the EU is fully aware of Jordan’s exceptional circumstances brought on primarily by the Syrian crisis and the accompanying refugee influx, adding that the number of Syrian refugees living in Jordan has increased from 500,000 in 2013 to 1.3 million as of June this year.

Asked why the West has been maintaining an indecisive position on the Syrian conflict as opposed to the bold Russian attitude in support of the Syrian regime, the senator said: “It is all due to the presence of a terrorist element within the Syrian opposition.”

“There was a discussion once at NATO to replicate the Libyan example in Syria but the use of military force to end the struggle there was opposed by the politicians,” Klich said.

The EU policy in this region is to help stable and secure countries like Jordan, he said, adding that the union’s assistance to the refugee-burdened Kingdom will continue.

“That Warsaw has an embassy in Amman and that Jordan has no embassy in Poland is proof of how important the Kingdom is for the Polish,” he noted.

On the peace process, Klich said the EU believes in establishing an independent Palestinian state on the basis of the two-state solution as the only means to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Focusing on the situation in Ukraine, the senator said it is the first time in 20 years that borders have been changed in Europe using military force.

“The internal situation in Ukraine is catastrophic, but the EU stance towards Russia is the basis in the entire issue,” he said.

“Imposing change [using] military force is alien to EU policy after World War II,” Klich stressed, adding the EU “advocates dialogue as the only way to resolve tension”.

Russia, he charged, is maintaining an “iron fist” policy towards the eurozone and this tough attitude will have its negative impact on the Middle East too.  

On Sunday, Senate President Abdur-Ra’uf S. Rawabdeh met with Klich and discussed bilateral relations and ways of boosting them, especially at the parliamentary level, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

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