Placing the focus back on foreign affairs

>>> secretary of state john kerry has just completed a meeting with his counterpart from jordan , foreign minister nasser judeh. with both men realized the need to restart the palestinian communications with two-stage resolution. the foreign minister joins me here at the table. thank you very much. thanks for being with us.

>> good to be here.

>> peace talks have been stalled. completely stalled for four years. what gives you any hope that the new president and secretary of state are going to put energy into this?

>> well, it's not just about hope. and if we're going to rely on hope in the previous track record, then a lot of us would be pessimistic. we're extremely convinced this is of paramount importance. this is the core issue. seeking peace in the middle east i think that we're all in agreement over and it's apparent. y, you're absolutely right. there was a major evidence in 2010 which has stalled. we in jordan , his majesty king, early in 2012 conducted what we called exploratory talks to try and wedge the gap between the two parties to try and create an atmosphere to talk. of course, it actually helped but what is missing at this stage say process, unfortunately, we've had too much process and not enough peace. a process that would lead to direct negotiations concerning all foreign state decisions. this is a priority.

>> well, at the same time, we've had the arab spring. you had a war in syria -- a civil war in syria with more than 60,000 people dead. you have the refugees. you still have the refugees from iraq and now the refugees boarding your economy in syria . what's happening in egypt has got to be an extreme concern. so you've got a real crisis in your neighborhood.

>> in the middle east , huh? and this is not the first time that the middle east witnesses terrible upheaval. but thank god for the stability between jordan . and we're still living in the region. we're very, very conscious of what's happening in the region. i think you basically answered the way that i would answer. by looking at the region, looking at the turbulence in the region and bringing to the foreground the fact that the palestinian issue, the palestinian/israeli peace talks are more essential than ever to be revived at this stage. come may, the palestinian conflict is the main source of instability not just in the region but far beyond.

>> this is what secretary kerry had to say about syria today.

>> i can assure you my goal is to see us change this calculation. my goal is to see us have a negotiated outcome. and minimize the violence. it may not be possible.

>> what more should the united states be doing? there are those in the senate, john mccain and others saying we should have awe no-fly zone, more support to the rebels, and others know there's a real deputy between the defense and the white house and others deciding if you're on the rebels with so many al qaeda rebels youvy ma the blowback that we experienced in the '90s in afghanistan?

>> this is exactly what we see in jordan . and we've been asked in the past to give an opinion as to arming the rentals. and the king said give us a c.v. and give us an address. we want to make sure they're going to right people and not the wrong people. there are different approaches out there. yes, there's general disagreement over certain issues. but i think there's agreement between all the parties including china, by the way, that we have to have a solution that kicks in to end the violence on the were you hand. and take syria into transition. what is. happening on the ground in syria today is a civil war . i know some people steer clear of calling it a civil war but it is a civil war of a political nation. and the worst case scenario for all in the middle east is for that so slide into a sectarian civil war . if you compare that with the composition in egypt, in syria , you have lots of minorities each one of them republicing 3%, 4% of population put together in the majority. so the risk and potential of a sectarian area with violence we have to put that political situation kicking in and get the transition in place and then restore dignity to the great syrian people .

>> how do you get assad to give up power?

>> again, this is a process. we're seeing gestures from opposition. we have statements from the syrian national coalition saying he's willing to talk to representatives of the regime, so long as they don't have blood on their hands. this is a positive step forward . we saw statements talking about the regimes and it's important to put all the components together in trying to get people talking.

>> well, it's always a pleasure. thank you so much for seeing us. we look forward to see you you in aman and the travel with the president as well.