U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul Salam al-Majali are scheduled to meet in Israel’s Arava desert on July 20 for the start of trilateral talks that will focus on developing the Middle East.
Two days prior to that meeting, bilateral talks between Israel and Jordan are set to open at the same location on the Israeli-Jordanian border.
The bilateral talks, to take place some 10 miles north of the port city of Eilat, will mark the first time that Arab-Israeli negotiations will take place on Israeli soil.
Recent behind-the-scenes contacts between Israel and Jordan now appear to be moving into the open and at top gear.
In recent interviews, senior Israeli Foreign Ministry staffers, while continuing to be cautious, have been optimistic about making progress on the Jordanian front.
The bilateral talks with Jordan are expected to focus on such issues as water resources, borders, security issues and environmental concerns.
The talks involving the United States are designed to draw up a master plan for the development of the region.
After visiting the Middle East twice in May, Christopher is planning to return to the region on July 17 for a five-day visit, during which he will focus mainly on restarting the long-stalled Israeli-Syrian negotiations.
Last month, Jordan’s King Hussein said that progress in his country’s negotiations with Israel would not be dependent on progress on the Israeli-Syrian track.
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.
