Pelosi leads congressional delegation to Jordan to discuss Middle East and Syria
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led a bipartisan high-level congressional delegation to Jordan this weekend where they discussed Middle East peace and Syria with members of the country’s royal family, her office announced late Saturday.
“This evening, our bipartisan delegation was honored to meet with His Majesty King Abdullah II, Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, Prince Feisal bin Al Hussein, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and senior Jordanian officials,” the California Democrat said in a statement.
“We expressed our continued appreciation for the strategic partnership between the U.S. and Jordan and engaged in a constructive dialogue on regional stability, counterterrorism, security cooperation, Middle East peace, economic development and other shared challenges,” she said.
The nine-member delegation included House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel, Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson and Rep. Mac Thornberry, the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee.
The meeting comes as the US closely monitors the situation in Syria after Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo brokered a ceasefire between Turkey and Syria last week. That agreement followed the withdrawal of US troops from Syria, which shares part of its southern border with Jordan, a move criticized by both Republicans and Democrats.
“Our bipartisan delegation is visiting Jordan at a critical time for the security and stability of the region,” Pelosi said in the statement. “With the deepening crisis in Syria after Turkey’s incursion, our delegation has engaged in vital discussions about the impact to regional stability, increased flow of refugees, and the dangerous opening that has been provided to ISIS, Iran and Russia.”
The delegation received briefings from US diplomatic and military officials at the US embassy in Jordan during the trip.
