Gul receives Jordanian King

Jordan's King Abdullah II Ibn al-Hussein and his spouse Rania Abdullah who arrived in Ankara on Tuesday were welcomed by President Abdullah Gul and his spouse Hayrunnisa Gul with an official ceremony at the Cankaya Presidential Palace. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek and Secretary General of Turkish Presidency Mustafa Isen also attended the ceremony. After the ceremony, Gul and King Abdullah II had a tete-a-tete, chaired the delegational talks and held a joint press conference. Speaking at the conference, Gul expressed his happiness to welcome King Abdullah II and Queen Rania and reiterated the existing deep-rooted historic and friendly bilateral relations between Turkey and Jordan and predicted that such mutual high level visits will boost these relations. Abdullah II stated that regional issues concerning both countries were discussed during the meeting and he has witnessed that they agree with each other on such issues, expressing hope to yield results capable of boosting the cooperation in such fields as trade, information and communication technologies and energy.  Stating that they have also discussed the Syrian issue, Abdullah II said, "There is an urgent need for a political transition to stop the bloodshed and preserve the territorial integrity of Syria." Abdullah II also reiterated that Jordan was increasingly agitated about the ongoing new settlements in Jerusalem which will spoil the holy places there, proclaiming that Jordan and Turkey are ready to make greater efforts to protect Jerusalem and these places which are sacred to both Islam and Christianity. Furthermore, Abdullah II has called on the international community to redouble efforts to end Syria's nearly two-year crisis and help Syrian refugees living under difficult conditions in Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon. Following their contacts at the Presidential Palace, Abdullah II and Queen Rania visited Anitkabir, the mausoleum of the Turkish nation's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, where the Jordanian king wept during a moment of silence.