Reagan and Hussein Claim to Have Reached Better Understanding of Each Others Views

President Reagan and King Hussein of Jordan emerged from a 30-minute meeting at the White House this afternoon which the President characterized as “productive.” The Jordanian ruler, thanking Reagan for his warm reception, said “I believe we have an understanding of each others views better than at any other time.”

The meeting was the second between Reagan and Hussein this week. They met for more than two hours on Tuesday and the King also had meetings with Secretary of State George Shultz, Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and with the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

His session with the President this afternoon marked the end of his official visit to Washington. Reagan told reporters, “I think we have made significant progress toward peace” in the Middle East. “We have initiated a dialogue from which we would not consider turning back. Much work remains to be done,” Reagan said.

He added, “The road ahead is rough, but it’s the right road and I remain optimistic that through negotiations for a just resolution of the Palestinian problem in this context, a real and enduring peace is within reach.”

Turning to the King, he said, “Your visit has served as a reminder that the bonds of friendship that link Jordan and the United States are as strong as ever. I am very gratified as well by the warmth and good will which characterizes our relationship. I hope we can build on these bases in the weeks and months ahead to achieve the objective of enduring peace.”

Reagan, meeting with reporters this morning to discuss mainly domestic matters, was asked what he considered to be his greatest accomplishment this year. He replied that it was the progress made in Middle East peace efforts. Elaborating, he said “When you stop to think how many years this trouble has been going on there, I think we are making progress in the first step which has to be the total removal of (foreign) forces from Lebanon.”