Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed: ‘We reject all that is destabilising Jordan’

Regional leaders called Jordan’s King Abdullah on Sunday to express support

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, spoke to Jordan's King Abdullah in a phone call on April 4, 2021. Getty Images

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed spoke by phone with King Abdullah of Jordan on Sunday to assure him of the UAE's support following the arrest of senior Jordanian figures for attempts to destabilise the kingdom.

The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces expressed the UAE’s full solidarity with Jordan and its support for all of the measures the kingdom is taking to protect its security and stability, the UAE's state-run news agency Wam reported.

"We reject all that is destabilising Jordan and endangering the safety of its people," Sheikh Mohamed said.

Maintaining the security and stability of Jordan is an essential pillar of Arab security, Wam quoted him as saying.

Jordan's regional and international allies have rallied around the kingdom after it announced the arrests on Saturday.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman both phoned King Abdullah on Sunday to express their support, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain and Morocco's King Mohammed VI also expressed solidarity with Jordan and their backing of measures taken to protect its stability in calls to King Abdullah.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi called the monarch to affirm Cairo's "full solidarity" with Jordan and express "complete support of the recent decisions [he] has taken to ensure the stability and security of the kingdom", according to a presidency statement.

The leaders' calls on Sunday followed statements of support issued soon after the arrests were announced on Saturday.

Revealing details, Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister Ayman Al Safadi said on Sunday that former crown prince Hamzah bin Hussein had been in contact with former chief of the royal court, Bassem Awadallah, and other figures inside and outside the country to destabilise Jordan.

Security forces had been monitoring them, he said.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi called King Abdullah on Monday and reaffirmed his country's support for the kingdom.

"Jordan's stability and security will only prevail under the leadership of King Abdullah, it is inseparable to the security and stability of Iraq," he said.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Monday stressed the importance of Jordan's stability, saying the kingdom hosts more than 650,000 Syrian refugees, supports Palestinians and backs many UN aid efforts.
"Jordan plays a vital role in the Middle East and its peace and security, and the stability of the country is critically important," Mr Dujarric told reporters in New York.

The US State Department also reiterated its full support of Jordan's King Abdullah II on Monday.
"We are following closely [the situation in Jordan] and we have been in touch with these officials. Jordan is a valuable and strategic partner," State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

He went on to praise King Abdullah as a “close and indispensable partner” to the US.

“King Abdullah has our full support,” Mr Price said, pointing to the two-state solution in Israel and Palestine, the Syrian conflict, anti-ISIS efforts and the refugee crisis as some of the pressing areas that the two countries work closely on.

“We remain committed to working with Jordan,” Mr Price added.