President Barack Obama will holds talks with key ally King Abdullah II of Jordan on Wednesday following the announcement of aceasefire in Syria earlier this week.
The White House says the two leaders will focus their talks on resolving the conflict in Syria and meeting the needs of war-stricken refugees.
Jordan shares a border with Syria and Iraq, and Abdullah’s visit to the White House takes place as his country struggles to accommodate more than 630,000 Syrian refugees.
Earlier this month, King Abdullah said that Jordan had reached « breaking point » over the Syrian refugee influx.
The influx has overwhelmed the resource-poor country of 9.5 million people – including migrants and refugees – much of which is desert.
In 2016 alone, the refugees will cost Jordan $2.7 billion, according to Amman.
The meeting comes at an important moment in the five-year civil war in Syria, as Washington and Moscow work to install a fragile ceasefire designed to help end the conflict.
The two sides agreed on the terms and conditions for the « cessation of hostilities » on Monday in attempts to prevent the gaining of new ground.