The Parliament of Europe has called on the 10 member states of the European Economic Community to meet as soon as possible with a joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation to hear its views on the Middle East peace process.
The resolution was adopted by the Parliament as the 10 EEC Foreign Ministers prepared to meet in Luxembourg tomorrow to consider the issue, among others on their agenda. They are expected to discuss how and when the current President of the EEC, Italy’s Foreign Minister Giulio Andreotti, will meet with a delegation of Jordanians and Palestinans which has yet to be put together.
The formation of such a delegation was agreed to in principle by King Hussein of Jordan and Palestine Liberation Organization chief Yasir Arafat last February 11 in Amman. EEC officials said the ministers are still waiting to find out who will compose the delegation. Its purpose in seeking a meeting with EEC leaders is to get backing for an international peace conference on the Middle East with the participation of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and the PLO.
Israel and the U.S. are firmly opposed to such a framework for peace talks and insist that the Jordanians and non-PLO Palestinians negotiate directly with Israel. But France, a permanent member of the Security Council, has agreed to receive a joint delegation.
Israeli Premier Shimon Peres, while opposed to an international conference, has called on permanent members of the Security Council to support direct Arab-Israeli peace talks. Peres has taken cognizance of Hussein’s need for some international framework for talks with Israel which he refuses to undertake alone.
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