Shultz Decides Aide Won’t Meet PLO-Jordan Group

Secretary of State George P. Shultz, bowing to Israeli pressure, has told the Israeli ambassador that a top aide probably will not meet with a Jordanian-Palestinian delegation in the Middle East this week, diplomatic sources said today.

The sources said Shultz told Ambassador Meir Rosenne on Monday that this week’s trip to the region by Assistant Secretary of State Richard W. Murphy is only “exploratory,” although it could result in a date being set for the long-awaited U.S.-Palestinian-Jordanian meeting.

Murphy, meanwhile, arrived in Amman, Jordan, for the first stop on his trip to the region, which was announced by the department Monday. (Story on Page 4.) Murphy probably will remain in the Jordanian capital for several days and meet with King Hussein, said a State Department official who requested anonymity.

Diplomatic sources said Rosenne, at an unpublicized State Department meeting with Shultz on Monday, outlined Israeli objections to the anticipated Murphy meeting.

He was assured by Shultz that despite willingness on the part of the United States to meet the delegation, Murphy will not talk to the Palestine Liberation Organization or its representatives. Shultz also promised to consult Israel on the matter, the sources said.

Murphy is visiting Israel, Jordan and Egypt, and officials said the trip might be expanded to include Syria and Saudi Arabia.

A senior State Department official, briefing reporters Monday, said that a meeting with the delegation during Murphy’s trip “is an option” but that no final decision on the meeting had been made.

Another official said today that a meeting in Amman during Murphy’s tour is “within the realm of possibility” but unlikely, although Murphy could return to Amman, the expected site, later in his tour.