Jordan King Calls for Urgent Solution in Syria

King Abdullah II of Jordan, where some 500,000 refugees from the conflict in Syria are being sheltered, called on Saturday for an urgent political solution to the conflict raging north of the border.

"In Syria, a political solution is urgently needed to stop that country's dangerous fragmentation and to resolve the dire refugee crisis," the king said.

"Our Jordanian population is now hosting 10 percent of its size in Syrian refugees and this may double by year-end," and its people are "generously sharing scarce water and other resources".

"For host countries like us and Lebanon; for displaced and vulnerable Syrians, both inside and outside their country, increased humanitarian assistance from the global community is vital. But what is ultimately needed is an immediate end to the violence, so all the Syrian people can rebuild their country."

The king's appeal comes as world powers are trying to bring the Syrian regime and its opponents together at a conference in Geneva to seek a political solution to the war.

The king also called for people to work together to "address the core crisis in our region -- the Palestinian-Israeli conflict", saying "extremism everywhere has grown fat off this crisis" and that "it is time to stop feeding its growth".

He commended an Arab League peace initiative as pointing the way forward.