Stoltenberg says King Abdullah’s assessments ‘highly valuable’ for NATO

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday that the assessments and analyses of His Majesty King Abdullah "are highly valuable" for NATO. Answering the Jordan News Agency's reporter at a NATO conference in Brussels about whether NATO foreign ministers would discuss the Israeli war on Gaza Tuesday, Stoltenberg said King Abdullah briefed NATO member states on the developments in the Middle East and the Israeli war on Gaza. He said Jordan "is a close and highly valued" partner of NATO, adding the alliance has regional partners. "The alliance is keen to consult with its regional partners." Regarding the Israeli war in Gaza, Stoltenberg welcomed the truce in the besieged enclave to release detainees and deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinian Gazans, urging an extension to the ceasefire "because this will give the residents of Gaza the relief they desperately need." He explained that NATO did not play an "active role in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict," adding that the alliance conducts training mis sions in Iraq to fight Daesh and has close cooperation with Jordan. Source: Jordan News Agency