U.S. Appears to Open Door to Soviets for Mideast Talks

The United States, after a meeting between President Reagan and King Hussein at the White House on Monday, appeared to soften its opposition to Soviet participation in the international conference that the Jordanian monarch wants as a condition for direct talks with Israel.

The Administration might go along with inviting the Soviets to a Mideast conference, provided it is structured to prevent Moscow from blocking progress toward an Arab-Israeli settlement, one U.S. official said after the 45-minute meeting.

Presumably, this could be done by keeping the international meeting on a purely formal level and leaving all the substantive work to direct negotiations between Israel and a Jordanian-Palestinian delegation.

The official said that Hussein listened to American ideas in his meeting with Reagan but did not commit himself to any changes in his original proposal. The king has called for a conference attended by Israel, Jordan, other Arab nations and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council--the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, France and China.

If such a conference were held, Hussein announced four months ago, Jordan would talk directly to Israel under the U.N. resolutions that call on Jerusalem to withdraw from territory occupied during the Arab-Israeli wars of 1967 and 1973 in exchange for international recognition, a peace treaty and the right to live within secure and recognized borders.

Hussein said Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat has joined him in that policy.

The king said a conference would demonstrate international backing for a Jordanian-Israeli settlement, and he has vowed not to proceed without such support.

Reagan, with Hussein by his side, said: “Jordan has been moving steadily and courageously forward in the search for a peaceful, negotiated settlement of the conflict in the Middle East. All of us--Jordan, the United States and Israel--share the same realistic objective: direct negotiations, under appropriate auspices, before the end of this year.”

Reagan had not previously used the phrase under appropriate auspices in describing Israeli-Jordanian talks, although Secretary of State George P. Shultz acknowledged earlier that Washington understood Hussein’s desire for some sort of international context for negotiations.

King Uses Same Words

In a speech to the United Nations last Friday, Hussein used the same phrase: “We are prepared to negotiate, under appropriate auspices, with the government of Israel.”

Despite the identical wording, however, it was clear that Washington and Amman have very different ideas about what constitutes appropriate auspices. Nevertheless, a senior Administration official who briefed reporters at the White House said Reagan and Hussein “made some headway” in trying to reach an understanding on the issue, although he would not elaborate.

Another U.S. official acknowledged later that most of the concessions were on the American side and said the whole situation remains “a little bit amorphous and not nailed down.”

Israeli, U.S. Objections

Ever since Hussein first unveiled his plan, both Israel and the United States have objected to any framework that would include the Soviet Union. Israel opposes Soviet participation because Moscow has no diplomatic relations with Israel. The U.S. position has been that the Soviets are international troublemakers who should be kept away from Middle East diplomacy if possible.

However, in his briefing Monday, the senior Administration official, requesting anonymity, cited only Israel’s objections and said the United States “has taken note of that.” He said, “It’s not a question of the President’s opposition” to Soviet participation.

The debate over Soviet participation may be an academic one, because Moscow likely would decide to boycott a conference specifically designed to give diplomatic “cover” to direct negotiations between Jordan and Israel. Syria, the Soviet Union’s closest ally in the Middle East, would almost surely refuse to attend such a conference.

‘Free of Belligerence’

In his public farewell to Reagan on Monday, Hussein said Jordan is unwavering in its condemnation of terrorism and called for negotiations “in an environment free of belligerence and hostile acts.”

Reagan assured the king of U.S. support for Jordanian security and urged Congress to approve a package of warplanes, anti-aircraft missiles and armored personnel carriers, worth at least $1.5 billion, that the Administration proposed Friday.

“These arms are important in meeting Jordan’s proven defense needs and as evidence that those who seek peace will not be left at the mercy of those who oppose it,” Reagan said.

House Majority Leader Jim Wright (D-Tex.) said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Congress attempted to block the sale. But he said that if Hussein enters negotiations with Israel, it would “soften the determination to oppose arms to Jordan.”