Jordan's FM: Monarch committed to reforms

NICOSIA, Cyprus – Jordan's foreign minister says the country's monarch is committed to reforms that he sees as the "only way forward".

Nasser Judeh said after talks Friday with Cypriot counterpart Markos Kyprianou that 70 percent of Jordanians are under 30 and "deserve and demand legitimately opportunity and a better life."

Judeh said reforms are "not a question of speed" but of commitment which King Abdullah II has clearly expressed.

King Abdullah said this week that it will take "at least two or three years" to put in place an elected government to replace a royally appointed one.

Some dissidents seek a speedier liberalization of Jordanian politics.

Judeh said establishing a political party culture in Jordan can't happen "overnight."