US Secretary of State John Kerry visited Jordan on Friday for talks with King Abdullah II on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, a US spokeswoman said.

US Secretary of State John Kerry visited Jordan on Friday for talks with King Abdullah II on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, a US spokeswoman said.

The brief stop in the Red Sea port of Aqaba, where the talks were held, was not previously announced.

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said Kerry, who arrived from Rome from where he also brought back his Jordanian counterpart Nasser Judeh, was to discuss the Middle East peace process with the monarch.

"We are arriving in Aqaba, Jordan, with Foreign Minister Judeh today to see King Abdullah to talk about the peace process," Harf said.

Following Kerry's departure, the palace issued a short statement saying that he "briefed the king on the latest developments in the peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians".

"Kerry also briefed the king on talks between US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington" this week, it said.

"The king stressed the need for achieving comprehensive peace in line with a two-state solution..."

He insisted that "Jordanian high interest, particularly in final status issues, tops Jordan's priorities", the statement said without elaborating.