Obama and Abdullah have met often in the past to discuss issues like counterterrorism and the war on ISIS, and US officials consistently say Jordan remains a top USA ally in the region.
Advertisement
Obama made the comments after a meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the White House on Wednesday.
The two leaders discussed USA assistance to Jordan as it grapples with an influx of Syrian and Iraqi refugees fleeing violence in their native countries, including terrorist attacks by the Islamic State militant group.
Spokesman Josh Earnest says the USA expects there to be some violations of the agreement and for it to remain unclear at first whether it is effective. “We are very cautious about raising expectations on this”, Obama said in the Oval Office, where he was hosting Jordan’s King Abdullah.
“It will be unclear after a few days, or maybe even after a few weeks, about whether or not this understanding will stick”, Earnest said. Most of the refugees live in regional host countries, though tens of thousands have moved on to Europe because living conditions were becoming increasingly hard in those host countries, in part because of shortfalls in worldwide aid.
Abdullah added that he is “so grateful for the support you’ve shown … no country other than the United States has given us so much support” in the fight against ISIS.
Advertisement
The US and Russian Federation on Monday announced a plan for a cessation of hostilities in Syria starting Saturday, which the United Nations described as “a signal of hope” for an end to the almost five-year-old conflict. “And one of the reasons we’re here is to make sure that we’re taking the coordination between our two countries to the next level”.
