(CNN) -- The exiled leader of the Palestinian Islamic faction Hamas met with Jordan's King Abdullah II on Sunday in his first official trip to Jordan since his expulsion in 1999. In a statement issued by Hamas, Khaled Meshaal expressed his appreciation to the king for supporting Palestinians. "Any future meetings between Hamas and Jordan open a new page between the two sides and serve the Palestinian cause," said Meshaal, who announced earlier this month that he would not seek another term as president of the movement's governing body. The meeting comes as Abdullah is making a high-profile attempt to broker new peace talks in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Hamas, which the United States and the European Union consider a terrorist organization, controls the Palestinian territory of Gaza and refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist.
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Khaled Meshaal meets with King Abdullah II in Amman
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It's his first official visit since Jordan expelled Hamas in the 1990s
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Abdullah is attempting to broker new Israeli-Palestinian peace talks
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Israel, Palestinians point fingers over the latest impasse
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