U.S. Meeting With Arabs on Mideast Peace Scuttled

Middle East envoy Richard Murphy has apparently abandoned the possibility of a meeting with a Jordanian-Palestinian delegation and may cut short his peace mission, a U.S. official said today.

The spokesman said Murphy “probably won’t meet with the delegation,” which had hoped to talk with the American as a prelude to direct Middle East peace talks with Israel.

One proposed member of the joint delegation had said after earlier talks in Amman, Jordan, involving Murphy and Jordan’s King Hussein that a meeting could be held Monday.

The U.S. official, who could not be identified, said that meeting became doubtful because Murphy and Arab officials “can’t agree on arrangements, people, places, etc.” He said it “was possible” that Murphy will return to the United States by the weekend.

Met With Peres, Shamir

Murphy, who flew to Jerusalem from Amman today, met for two hours with Prime Minister Shimon Peres and an hour with Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir. Both Israeli leaders were anxious to head off any meeting between Murphy and a joint delegation.

Israeli officials say such a meeting would be tantamount to U.S. recognition of the Palestine Liberation Organization, a step Israel and the United States have vowed not to take until the PLO recognizes Israel’s right to exist.

Murphy met for two hours with Peres, then conferred for an hour with Shamir. Later, he called the talks “full and close.”

“We are involved in an intimate and intense set of discussions,” Murphy said. “We are pursuing full and close consultations with the government of Israel.”

A U.S. official said Murphy reassured Israel that Washington is seeking direct Arab-Israeli negotiations. The official said Murphy promised that Washington will not negotiate with the PLO unless its recognizes Israel and accepts two key U.N. Security Council resolutions implying recognition.

Advocates Conference

Israeli officials said Murphy told them that Jordan advocates an international peace conference and the participation of the PLO in the Jordanian-Palestian delegation and thereafter in talks involving Israel.

But the Israelis contended that Jordan was only seeking to exploit a U.S. meeting with the joint delegation for the real purpose of involving the PLO in the discussions and convening an international peace conference.

A senior Israeli official said that Murphy was told that “the main obstacle to progress is Jordan’s requirement to have the PLO participate in every move with Israel.”