President Reagan, King Hussein of Jordan and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt emerged from a luncheon meeting at the White House today with Reagan declaring that the Middle East conflict “must be resolved by negotiations involving an exchange of territory for peace.” In addition, Mubarak urged the United States to open a dialogue with the Palestine Liberation Organization through Yasir Arafat; and Hussein expressed his appreciation for the three-way talks today and his own private meeting with Reagan yesterday.
A senior Administration official who summed up the talks later, stressed, however, that there had been no breakthrough. “No decisions were taken and no new plans were made–that was not the purpose of the meeting, ” he said.
The official also dissociated Reagan from Mubarak’s call for a U.S. dialogue with the PLO, observing that “You can’t control statements by a departing chief of state and you certainly don’t endorse it by standing there.”
He reaffirmed that the U.S. stands by Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 as the framework for Middle East peace and declared, “We have no intention of negotiating with the PLO.”
The official said that Reagan had assured his guests that he will not “shy away from the peace process during this election year … He (the President) made clear the need for moving forward.” The official refused to elaborate, however, on Reagan’s remark about exchanging territory for peace.
In his remarks to the press after the luncheon meeting which lasted well over an hour, Reagan said he and his guests had “discussed in detail the opportunities for progress in the Middle East.” He stressed his September 1, 1982 peace initiative as the best means toward progress and blamed the situation in Lebanon on “outside forces.”
Mubarak had the most to say to reporters at the White House. He maintained that the key to a solution in Lebanon is “the prompt and unconditional with drawal of Israeli forces” from that country. He held Israel’s invasion of Lebanon to be “the cause of the problem” and warned that the partition of Lebanon “must be prevented at any cost.” He suggested an expanded and re-enforced peace-keeping role for the United Nations in Lebanon. He also insisted that the Palestinian problem must be addressed “without delay.”
Mubarak, who met with Arafat in Cairo last December after the PLO chief was ousted from Lebanon by Syrian-backed Palestinian dissidents, told Reagan, “The Palestinian people are entitled to your support and understanding. There is no substitute for a direct dialogue with them through their chosen representatives, the PLO.”
He suggested that the dialogue be held with Arafat whom he described as “a responsible leader who has demonstrated tremendous courage under the most difficult circumstances.”
Hussein said after the meeting that he “carries back the impression that Egypt and the U.S. are willing to contribute their full share in the search for peace.”
The senior Administration official described the three-way talks today as “very lively and animated… an airing of concerns and views about the need to renew the focus in the Middle East.” He said the purpose of the meeting had been to discuss where the situation in the region as a whole and in Lebanon stands today and what can be done to reactivate the peace process.
The official said the three leaders had agreed on the need to broaden peace negotiations to include Jordan and that Hussein is “looking for a framework to enter the negotiations.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
