U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is traveling Wednesday to Jordan for talks on challenges facing the country's neighbors, including tensions in Jerusalem and the fight against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq.
Kerry will meet with Jordan's King Abdullah on his latest trip to the region that he has visited more than a dozen times since becoming the top U.S. diplomat in early 2013.
The Israeli-Palestinian peace process has been one of Kerry's top priorities, and a year ago the two sides were in the middle of renewed negotiations that he helped broker after a three-year break.
But their relationship has taken dramatic steps backward this year with the end of the talks in April, a 50-day war in July and August and numerous recent clashes at a key religious site in Jerusalem.
From Jordan, Kerry will travel Friday to the United Arab Emirates for a peace and security forum and separate talks with other officials and leaders there.
