The Arab countries are apparently asking for a guarantee from the United States that Israel will withdraw from Lebanon before they agree to provide a haven for the estimated 6,000 Palestine Liberation Organization men in west Beirut.
This appeared to be the implication of remarks by Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, as he and the Syrian Foreign Minister, Abdel Halim Khaddam, emerged from a more than hour-long meeting with President Reagan at the White House today. The two ministers, representing the Arab League, met for two hours yesterday with Secretary of State George Shultz. Shultz also attended their meeting today with Reagan. When reporters asked Saud directly about the PLO withdrawal, he said that the PLO has agreed to leave Beirut but there is a need to know “in particular and in principle how to guarantee the withdrawal of the Israeli troops.” A senior Administration official briefing reporters on the two days of talks, stressed that while the withdrawal of all troops had been discussed, it had not been in the context of a timetable.
The official noted that the U.S. position has been “from the very beginning” that Israel has to withdraw from Lebanon. “This is consistent also with the position of the government of Israel which both privately and publicly made it clear that it has no intention to stay in Lebanon,” the official said.
‘NEW IDEAS’ BROACHED
He said that “new ideas” had been broached during the talks, ”basically” by the two Arab spokesmen. “I think it adds a new element of possible movement in the near future in the right direction,” he said.-The official was deliberately vague about specifics. However, he indicated that those ideas will form the basis of the negotiations being conducted in Beirut by President Reagan’s special envoy, Philip Habib.
The official noted that today’s White House meeting, which extended beyond the 45 minutes allocated to it, indicated the President’s “continued support” for Habib’s efforts.
Prince Saud stressed that before any decision can be made as a result of the Washington talks, he and Khaddam must report to the Arab League. The two ministers comprised one of five teams the Arab League has dispatched to the five countries which have permanent members on the United Nations Security Council to get support for Security Council Resolutions 508 and 509 which call for, among other things, Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon. Saud’s remarks to reporters persistently stressed the need for Israel’s withdraw al. He said that in the talks yesterday and today with Shulrz and Reagan, “We were able to convey to the President the seriousness and the willingness of the Arab countries to bear their responsibilities in assisting the government of Lebanon to maintain its independence and territorial integrity and also to safeguard the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.”
Khaddam made virtually the same statement, emphasizing Lebanon’s integrity and the “legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.”
An Administration official said the Palestinian issue was discussed since “You cannot discuss the current problems in Lebanon without getting to the core issue which is the Palestinian problem itself.” He said President Reagan reiterated his commitment, in light of the situation in Lebanon, to find a solution for the Palestinian problem within the framework of the Camp David process.
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.
