Abdullah and Clinton discuss Iran and Israel

WASHINGTON // Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, met Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, for talks yesterday on a broad range of issues yesterday including Iran's nuclear programme and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Sheikh Abdullah began a five-day visit to the US capital on Sunday and has meetings scheduled with top Obama administration officials and US legislators from both parties. He and Mrs Clinton, who he also met at last month's Afghanistan conference in London, discussed Iran's "increasingly disturbing and destabilising actions, its failure to fulfil its international obligations, and the importance of working with the international community to address these issues", according to a joint statement released following the meeting. The two leaders also discussed their commitment to the two-state solution for the Palestinian Territories. Their statement called for Israelis and Palestinians to resume negotiations as soon as possible. While in Washington, Sheikh Abdullah was also expected to meet George Mitchell, the US special envoy to the Middle East, and Richard Holbrooke, the special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. On Monday he met Howard Berman, the House foreign affairs committee chairman who helped to guide the US-UAE nuclear agreement through Congress, and Gen James Jones, the US national security adviser. On Monday night, Sheikh Abdullah participated in an off-the-record discussion on foreign policy at the Aspen Institute, a non-profit policy studies organisation in Washington. Sheikh Adbullah made a similar five-day trip to Washington last year. sstanek@thenational.ae