King Abdullah II of Jordan conferred Sunday with the Middle East Quartet's envoy, Tony Blair, and pledged his country's support for the group's efforts to shore up confidence between Israel and the Palestinians, according to an official statement.

"The monarch expressed backing for the efforts being exerted by the Quartet with a view to narrowing the gap and boosting confidence between the Palestinians and Israelis ahead of the international conference on Middle East peace that was proposed by U.S. President George W. Bush," the statement from the royal court said.

"To ensure [that] the conference be a success, all parties concerned with the peace process should work seriously in the coming few weeks to ensure that the meeting comes up with positive results that fulfill the aspirations of the Palestinian people in establishing an independent state on all Palestinian territories," the statement contined.