New US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised to work toward a "durable peace" in the Middle East in a first telephone call Thursday with the Palestinian president, a spokesman said.
"She spoke of the need to support president Abbas and the Palestinian Authority to reach a durable and just peace as quickly as possible," spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP.
"President Abbas reiterated his backing for the peace process and promised to make every effort to achieve peace," his spokesman said.
President Barack Obama phoned Abbas on Wednesday in what the Palestinians said was the new US leader's first call to a foreign leader.
"We consider that these two calls in 24 hours show the new administration's intent not lose time and the importance it gives to this issue," Abu Rudeina added.
At her Senate confirmation hearing a week ago, Clinton pledged to work immediately to pursue Arab-Israeli peace following an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip that has ended in a fragile truce.
The previous US president George Bush oversaw the re-launch of the Israel-Palestinian peace process in November 2007 but little progress has been made since.
Jordan king tells Clinton ready to work with US for peace
Jordan's King Abdullah II said on Thursday he is ready to work with the new US administration to launch "serious and effective" peace talks in the Middle East, according to the palace.
"I am looking forward to working with the US administration to launch serious and effective negotiations as soon as possible," a palace statement quoted the king as telling US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton over the telephone.
"A two-state solution (to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict) is the only way to achieve security and stability in the region."
The statement said Clinton called the king, a key US ally in the region, "to discuss efforts to help end the conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis," who signed a peace treaty with Jordan in 1994.
A day after his inauguration on Tuesday, US President Barack Obama telephoned Israeli and Arab leaders, including the king, who urged Washington to act quickly to push for peace.
In another phone call by Clinton on Thursday, she promised Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas that she would work towards a "durable peace" in the Middle East.
Clinton, Steinmeier discuss Mideast conflict
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier discussed the Middle East conflict on Thursday in a telephone call with new US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and agreed to meet soon, his office said.
Steinmeier "thanked his American counterpart for her government's determination to quickly engage itself in the Middle East conflict," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The two top diplomats agreed to hold a "meeting soon," it said.
"I now see a chance for a renewal of the transatlantic partnership to meet challenges together," Steinmeier said, singling out the war in Afghanistan, global warming and disarmament as key issues.
Clinton took charge of US foreign policy on Thursday, one day after her Senate confirmation as President Barack Obama's secretary of state.
