The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich, has been holding talks on the stalled Middle East peace process with King Hussein of Jordan.

Mr Gingrich, who travelled to Jordan following separate meetings with the Israelis and Palestinians, described his discussions with the King as encouraging.

He said that despite the ongoing grievances, he was heartened by the goodwill that existed on both sides.

King Hussein stressed the importance of implementation by Israel of the Oslo peace accords.

Mr Gingrich is a strong supporter of Israel, and has frequently criticised American efforts to persuade Israel to hand over more land to the Palestinians.