President Richard M. Nixon and King Hussein of Jordan both voiced hope for Mideast peace today as they began White House talks opening the King’s three-day official visit to the Capital. They conferred for about ninety minutes and press secretary Ronald Ziegler said later that Mr. Nixon was pleased to hear the King’s views, noting that the latter had recently conferred with President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt and Saudi Arabia’s King Faisal. They will meet again.
Greeting King Hussein, Mr. Nixon said he hoped that their talks might open “new avenues that could lead to permanent peace in that troubled part of the world, the Middle East.” The Hashemite monarch said: “Within the very near future, we can either move toward our objective–a just and honorable peace–or we might lose the opportunity to establish peace. A situation as explosive as it is holds many dangers, not only to those involved in the area but to the world as a whole.”
Full state honors were accorded King Hussein on the White House’s south lawn, including a 21-gun salute. Mr. Nixon told the King that the “explosive situation” between Israel and the Arab states required a solution that must come from “leadership from within.” Such leadership, he said, involved the qualities of “courage, wisdom and moderation.” “We in this country,” Mr.Nixon declared, “have seen in you those qualities.” “I am proud of the fact that you are my friend,” the King told the President. Mr. Nixon beamed. The King voiced hope that Arab-American relations would now “grow stronger than they ever were.” King Hussein was the first official Arab state visitor since Mr. Nixon took office. The President conferred at the White House last month with Foreign Minister Abba Eban of Israel. The King also met today with Secretary of State William P. Rogers.
State Department officials said that today’s meeting was a sign that the Nixon Administration was moving toward a more even-handed Mideast policy. They said U.S. policy-makers wanted to give national exposure to the Arab viewpoint on the Mideast dispute. In their view, there is a “saturation” of the U.S. information media by Israel and her supporters in this country.
The talks may lead to a speed-up in delivery of F-104 jet fighter aircraft promised to Jordan after the Six-Day War but not yet sent. Jordanian pilots have been trained in the U.S. Jordan has placed stress on improving its air defense capacity, citing Israeli strikes across the cease-fire lines. U.S. sources said that Lt. Gen. Amer Khammash, Jordanian Army Chief of Staff, who is accompanying the King, was here to press for early action on improving Jordan’s radar net, anti-aircraft capacity, and aerial strength. Officials said the reason for delay in the delivery of F-104s was that Jordanian technical facilities and airfields were not yet equipped to handle the sophisticated jets. The planes were scheduled to have started moving to Jordan last December.
State Department officials pointed out that Secretary of State Rogers supported Jordan recently when he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Israel-Arab borders must not reflect the “weight of conquest.” They said the U.S. would support Jordan against Israeli pressures for fortified outposts in demilitarized zones that may emerge if and when Israel withdraws from the West Bank of the Jordan River.
BIG 4 MEET AGAIN, INDICATE THAT NO FURTHER COMMUNIQUES ARE PLANNED
As the White House meetings were under way, the second session of the Big Four Ambassadors was held in the New York residence of Soviet Ambassador Yakov A. Malik. They met for nearly three and one-half hours in their search for a solution to the Mideast conflict, and acting under self-imposed secrecy, said that there would be no more communiques. A communique issued last Thursday following the first meeting, at the home of France’s Ambassador Armand Berard, set the stage for today’s announcement. It said that the “active consultations…will be private and confidential.” The next meeting will be held Monday at the residence of Lord Caradon, Britain’s envoy.
Yesterday, Mahmoud Fawzi, foreign affairs adviser to President Nasser, conferred with the Big Four Ambassadors and Secretary-General U Thant at the UN. Some observers thought he amplified the Egyptian response to a questionnaire submitted to Israel and its Arab foes by UN Mideast peace envoy Dr. Gunnar V. Jarring. The Jordanian and Israeli replies were understood to have been given to the Big Four envoys. Mr. Fawzi was due to return tomorrow to Washington, where he conferred briefly last week with President Nixon and Secretary of State Rogers. Despite the absence of diplomatic ties–Egypt broke them during the Six-Day War–Mr. Fawzi represented Col. Nasser at the Eisenhower funeral rites last week.
Arabs at the UN said that Mr. Fawzi’s movement back and forth to the Capital and meetings with the President and Mr. Rogers was unusual treatment for a representative of a nation that has no diplomatic ties with 1Washington. Mr. Fawzi was understood to be discussing the possibility of renewing those connections. According to some UN sources, Mr. Fawzi yesterday urged the earliest possible implementation of the Security Council’s Nov. 22,1967 resolution which laid out the principles for a Mideast settlement.
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