U.S. Seeks to Placate Israel on Talks With Palestinians

The Reagan Administration, responding to complaints from Israel, said Tuesday that it will not engage in “indirect negotiations or pre-negotiations” with a proposed Jordanian-Palestinian delegation, although it remains ready to confer with the group.

In a statement issued as Assistant Secretary of State Richard W. Murphy arrived in Amman for talks with Jordanian officials, the State Department sought to placate Israel following a new chorus of criticism of Washington’s Mideast policy. But while the statement can be expected to soothe Israel, it seems likely to irritate Jordan.

“We have said we are prepared to participate in such a meeting (with a Jordanian-Palestinian delegation) if it clearly leads to our objective of direct negotiations” between the Arabs and Israel, department spokesman Charles Redman reiterated. But, he added, “we will not participate in indirect negotiations or pre-negotiations.”

Redman continued: “We have also said that the purpose of such a meeting is not a U.S. dialogue with the PLO. Our position on that subject is clear. . . . As we move forward toward negotiations, we will consult closely with Israel, as we will with Jordan and Egypt.”

Nevertheless, Israeli Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir called Murphy’s arrival in Amman a “dangerous” development and said Israel “should be mobilizing all its political might to thwart this move and stave off its inherent dangers.”

The State Department statement was similar in substance but differed sharply in tone from the announcement Monday of Murphy’s trip to Jordan, Israel and Egypt. At that time, a senior Administration official said Murphy would attempt to complete arrangements for a meeting with the Jordanian-Palestinian delegation during his trip and, if successful, might meet the Arab group on the spot.

On Tuesday, Redman said such a meeting before Murphy’s return to Washington remained a possibility, but other officials said the odds were strongly against it.

The latest statement did not mark a change in basic U.S. policy, Redman said. And although that seems to be true, Tuesday’s remarks stressed elements of that policy acceptable to Israel, while Monday’s emphasized the elements favorable to Jordan.

Protest From Envoy

The department drafted the new statement after Israeli Ambassador Meir Rosenne protested to Secretary of State George P. Shultz that Israel strongly opposed a U.S. meeting with the Arab delegation. Prime Minister Shimon Peres and Shamir delivered a similar message to U.S. Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering in Israel.

King Hussein of Jordan is urging the United States to meet with a delegation of his government’s representatives joined by Palestinians selected by the Palestine Liberation Organization. Washington, following a longstanding commitment to Israel, has said it will not confer with members of the PLO but is willing to talk to some non-members selected by the organization. So far, the two sides have been unable to agree on a suitable list of Palestinians.

The Jordanian monarch has made no secret of his hope that such a meeting would be a prelude to U.S. recognition of the PLO as the representative of the Palestinians. The United States has never given Hussein any public encouragement on that issue, but the latest statement seemed to go out of its way to reject in advance any such outcome.

A Chilly Reception

Murphy, who is scheduled to begin formal meetings with Jordanian officials today, may find a chilly reception. He must try to convince the Amman government that the United States continues to support Hussein’s agreement with the PLO on a joint approach to negotiations with Israel, despite the State Department’s reiteration of U.S. opposition to talks with the PLO.

Israeli officials have said they are opposed to preliminary Arab-American peace talks under any condition, but particularly if they involve Palestinians closely identified with the PLO.

Speaking in a radio interview before meeting with Pickering, Shamir said Murphy’s trip was “dangerous” because it could “lead to his meeting with a Jordanian-PLO delegation--an incomparably grave step which could have serious consequences for peace and security in the region.” The United States had decided to send Murphy “despite the Israeli government’s explicit opposition,” he said.

Little to Calm Fears

In his meeting with Peres and Shamir, Pickering passed along the State Department’s latest statement. But the visit did little to calm the Israeli foreign minister’s fears.

“I heard those conciliatory words,” he said in a late-night television interview. “But I must tell you--and I told the United States--that I am still concerned. I am concerned by the step itself. I am concerned by the decision of the United States government to take this path.”

Norman Kempster reported from Washington and Dan Fisher from Jerusalem.