EILAT, Israel — Jordan's new king on Sunday paid his first state visit to Israel, underplaying the pomp and ceremony in a pointed reference to the precarious state of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
King Abdullah II eschewed a high-profile reception for the visit, which had been scheduled for February but was delayed due to escalated fighting between Israel and Lebanese guerrillas. At his insistence, he met Prime Minister Ehud Barak for a scant four hours in Eilat, a southern Red Sea resort remote from Israel's bustling center.
The young king, whose country concluded a peace agreement with Israel in 1994, made it clear that the collapsed talks with Syria and the troubled Palestinian track were making it harder for him to keep warm ties.
The concept of trading land for peace, he reminded Barak in his opening remarks, "has been accepted by all parties since 1991 and must continue to guide us."
The Palestinians say Israel is not offering them enough of the West Bank, and Syria wants a prior commitment that Israel will return the disputed Golan Heights.