Reagan Administration Discouraging Impression That the U.S. Has Changed Its Position on Meeting with

The Reagan Administration is discouraging the impression that the U.S. changed its position on meeting with a joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation.

In a briefing, State Department spokesmen Bernard Kalb said that President Reagan had not indicated a change of policy toward the proposed delegation in his remarks at a press conference Thursday night.

“If you take everything the President said in its totality you will note there is no change in U.S. policy, “Kalb said on Friday. He said the U.S. remains open to the possibility of meeting with the Jordanian-Palestinian delegation. “If such a meeting contributes to the goal of direct negotiations between Israel and its Arab neighbors.”

At the nationally televised press conference Thursday night, Reagan said that “We are willing to meet ” with a joint delegation as long as it does not include members of the PLO.

Egypt and Jordan have been urging the U.S. to talk with such a delegation since the conclusion of an agreement between Jordan and the PLO last month. But both had maintained that participation by PLO members could not be avoided.

Kalb said that a meeting between Administration officials and the joint delegation “is one of a number of suggestions which have been made and no final decisions have been taken. ” He said that all suggestions would be explored during the visit by Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs Richard Murphy to the Mideast next month.