Jordanian Foreign Minister in Washington to Seek U.S. Support for Agreement Between Plo-jordan

Jordanian Foreign Minister Taher al-Masri arrived in Washington for talks with Reagan Administration and Congressional officials, in what he said would be a continued effort to win renewed American involvement in the peace process based on the agreement reached last month between Jordan and the Palestine Liberation Organization.

His arrival here follows a visit last week by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak who flew to Amman today for talks with Jordan’s King Hussein. Mubarak and Hussein left Amman unexpectedly for Baghdad this afternoon.

“We have been positive; we expect the others to take a step,” the Foreign Minister told reporters at a press conference sponsored by the quarterly, Foreign Policy. He maintained that the text of the agreement indicated that Jordan had “achieved something with the PLO,” which “needs to be reciprocated” before any further Arab concessions could be made.

PLO PARTICIPATION

The agreement concluded between King Hussein and PLO leader Yasir Arafat on February 11 calls for negotiations “under the auspices of an international conference” in which the PLO would participate as part of a joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation.

Jordan and Egypt have argued that the agreement reflects a change in the PLO position because it accepts the principle of “territories for peace” on the basis of UN Security Council Resolutions. The U.S. has called the agreement “a positive step” but continues to insist on explicit acceptance of Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, as well as recognition of Israel’s right to exist, as a condition for beginning any dialogue with the Palestinian organization.

SEEN AS LAST CHANCE

In response to questions at the briefing, the Foreign Minister reiterated warnings by King Hussein made most recently in an interview in yesterday’s New York Times that the opportunity presented by the February 11 agreement “is the last chance” to move the peace process forward and that Jordan could go no further without some response from the U.S.

But he appeared to be discouraging the appearance of an impasse with the U.S. by noting that the agreement strongly resembled the Reagan initia tive of September 1, 1982, suggesting that the gap between Jordan’s position and that of the Reagan Administration was relatively narrow. The Reagan initiative calls for ultimate “self-government by the Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza in association with Jordan,” while the February 11 agreement supports “Palestinian self-determination” to be achieved “within the context of the formation of the proposed confederated Arab states of Jordan and Palestine.”

Neither Jordan nor the PLO have accepted the Reagan initiative in total, primarily because the initiative does not recognize a Palestinian right to “self-determination.” Al-Masri called for U.S. recognition of Palestinian self-determination as reciprocation for the February 11 agreement.

SOVIET UNION COOL

In response to a question, the Foreign Minister noted that the Soviet Union, which would be involved in negotiations based on the Jordan-PLO proposal, had been “a bit cool” toward the February 11 agreement. “We got the feeling they don’t want to commit themselves now,” Al Masri said. “They are not negative; they are not positive.”

Israel has rejected any participation in Middle East peace negotiations by the Soviet Union, which has no diplomatic relations with the Jewish State. Al-Masri said the Saudis had assured Jordan of their support for any agreement it might conclude with the PLO.

The Jordanian Foreign Minister was scheduled to meet today with members of Congress and on Wednesday with Secretary of State George Shultz. He said he would also be making arrangements for a visit here by King Hussein, but that no specific date had been set.