President Carter, in warmly welcoming Jordan’s King Hussein to Washington this morning, appeared less optimistic than previously in his meetings with the Israeli and Egyptian leaders that important progress will be made this year toward a Middle East settlement.
“This year 1977 is a special time,” the President said. “We face possible opportunities for major strides toward permanent peace in the Middle East. It will be a mistake to be too optimistic because of the serious nature of divisions that have long separated one people from the other in the Eastern Mediterranean.”
TIME RIPE FOR GENEVA TALKS
However, later today, following the first Carter-Hussein meeting which lasted 75 minutes, the White House said in a notice to the press that the President and the King “agreed that the time is ripe for a major effort for reconvening the Geneva conference in the second half of 1977.” Asked to explain the apparent differences between Carter’s extemporaneous statement of welcome and the notice, Presidential News Secretary Jody Powell said he was “aware of the interpretations” that the President “sounded more pessimistic” this morning.
“It will be a mistake to read into the remarks this morning that there is a change of feeling,” Powell said. He added that Carter’s oral remarks were a “reaffirmation” of what he had said previously that the way to Geneva “won’t be easy.”
Powell denied that any information had reached Carter or any development had occurred that caused a change in the President’s position. He emphasized it would serve no useful purpose “by underestimating the difficulties to make progress this year.”
KING SEEN AS A KEY FIGURE
During his welcoming remarks, Carter, recalling Hussein’s frequent visits to the United States since his first call on President Eisenhower 18 years ago, said, “If there is one leader who is a Key” to “a possible solution” to the Arab-Israeli conflict “it would be King Hussein.”
Neither Carter nor Hussein in his response mentioned the Palestinians or Palestine. However, during a photo ceremony in the White House Oval Office before they opened the first of their three meetings today and tomorrow, reporters heard the President say laughingly to the King that his meeting with a PLO representative in the receiving line at the United Nations in New York last month had generated a tremendous amount of publicity.
Newsmen also heard Carter say “We have a very good group of moderate leaders who tremendously want peace. If we fail this year it is going to be very difficult to marshall an effort next year.”
Responding to the President’s welcome during the usual formalities on the south lawn of the White House, Hussein said “the United States has great resources to influence positively the course of events in the Middle East.” He said ” Jordan Is ready to play its full part in a just and lasting settlement.” He did not mention Israel.
Hussein expressed his “great confidence” in Carter’s analysis of the conflicting positions in the Mideast and remarked: “In the past we have suffered a gap in communications between the United States and the Arab world.” He said “we are assured your commitment to moral principles” would achieve peace in the area.
U.S. ATTITUDE TOWARD PLO UNCHANGED
Powell told reporters this afternoon that the U.S. position toward the terrorist PLO position remained unchanged. Asked whether this meant the PLO cannot enter the Geneva talks even as part of a Jordanian delegation, Powell said, “we cannot see the PLO having a constructive role in these negotiations as long as they refuse to let Israel live in peace.” Pressed on whether the Palestinians could participate in the Jordanian delegation but the PLO could not, Powell replied that what he had said was a “restatement” of the U.S. position.
The notice to the press said that the two leaders had discussed various ideas that had been put forward recently with regard to the question of Palestinian representation in the negotiations and how to resolve the Palestinian problem once the negotiations begin. Asked to amplify this, Powell referred to Carter’s statement of a Palestinian link or confederation with Jordan. He would not say what Hussein said on this subject.
Carter and Hussein also discussed the “other two central elements of a settlement: territorial boundaries and the nature of peace,” according to the notice.
During the welcoming ceremony this morning, Hussein appeared alone on the platform. His wife, Queen Alia, was killed in a helicopter crash last February. In an unusual gesture of warmth toward the monarch, Carter established some precedent by inviting two of the King’s seven sons to the plat form after Hussein’s speech and introduced them to the crowd of Jordanian government personnel, U.S. officials and the media.
Hussein is the third of the Middle Eastern leaders to meet the President. It was their first get together. The President first met with Israeli Premier Yitzhak Rabin in March and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat two weeks ago.
Last Friday, Carter met with Syrian Foreign Minister Abdel Halim Khaddam for an hour and afterwards the White House said that Carter and Syrian President Hafez Assad will meet in Geneva May 9. No details were given on the meeting with Khaddam who is also Syria’s Deputy Prime Minister. U.S. sources said earlier that during his two-day stay here Khaddam was to work out an agenda for the Geneva meeting. The sources acknowledged that other matters might have been discussed.
Prior to his meeting with Khaddam, Carter said at a news conference that he would hold down any comments on the Middle East until after he meets with all the leaders of the area’s nations. Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Faud, who is expected here about May 25 will conclude the President’s planned series of conferences.
However, since the Israeli election Is on May 17, U.S. sources believe he would invite the leader of the new Israeli government to Washington before making any further elucidations, since Rabin no longer is in power.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
