The Foreign Ministry issued a swift denial Wednesday of reports that it was considering an invitation to Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasir Arafat to visit West Germany.
But Bassam Abu Sharif, one of Arafat’s top advisers, insisted at a news conference that the matter was discussed.
Sharif was received Monday by Jurgen Sudhoff, political director of the Foreign Ministry.
It was the highest level of official contact with the West German government yet achieved by the PLO, and drew an expected sharp protest from Israel.
PLO officials here said they “understood” Bonn’s need to deny reports of a possible invitation to Arafat.
Nonetheless, one official said, “It is a fact. You just cannot undo what has been done.”
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