Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said here today that King Hussein of Jordan is not bent on a military confrontation with Israel. Kissinger returned to Israel after visiting Amman and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Speaking at a press conference, he said the fact that Hussein is receiving Robert Strauss, President Carter’s special envoy to the Middle East, on Saturday means that the purpose is to “explore what possibilities exist for negotiations, otherwise it wouldn’t make any sense.”
Asked if Saudi Arabia was linking oil supplies to the autonomy talks, the American diplomat said “I would hate to think that our position in these negotiations depends on expectations of the supply of oil.” He agreed completely with what Strauss reportedly said yesterday in Cairo, rejecting oil blackmail. Strauss was quoted as saying that the United States will not talk with the Palestine Liberation Organization under pressure from the oil-producing Arab nations.
“On the other hand,” Kissinger added,” I must say that this was not a threat that was made to me while I was in Saudi Arabia. The two issues were not brought into connection while I was there. The issue of energy and the issue of problems here should be dealt with as separate problems. I would have thought that Saudi Arabia would understand that its own position depends on stable world economy. There is enough to talk about in the energy field without linking it to other issues.”
Kissinger said there could be no change in the attitude toward the PLO until it accepted Security Council Resolution 242 and Israel’s right to exist.
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