Arafat, Hussein Meet; May Shape Future Peace Efforts

King Hussein of Jordan met with Yasser Arafat and the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization here Sunday in what could prove to be decisive negotiations that determine the shape of future Middle East peace efforts.

The Jordanian monarch and Arafat held two meetings, first with aides to the two men present for talks and a working lunch, then again in the evening for a private discussion that lasted several hours.

Hussein and Arafat had not met since November. They are assessing the Mideast peace initiative that they launched jointly last Feb. 11, with a call for a confederation of Jordan and a Palestinian state to be established in the Israeli-occupied West Bank of the Jordan River.

The current round of talks has generated considerable anticipation because Hussein is expecting an answer from Arafat on the question of whether the PLO now accepts two U.N. Security Council resolutions, 242 and 338, which implicitly recognize Israel’s right to exist within secure boundaries.

The United States has made acceptance of those resolutions a condition for PLO participation in any peace talks, but the PLO has consistently rejected 242 and 338.

Arafat’s meeting with Hussein also follows a flurry of diplomatic activity on the Middle East. Richard W. Murphy, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for Middle East affairs, met last week in London with both Hussein and Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres.

Two Murphy aides, Roscoe Suddarth and Wat T. Cluverius, were in Amman on Sunday, but it was unclear if their visits were related to the Arafat talks. Suddarth met with Jordanian Prime Minister Zaid Rifai earlier in the day.

Peres told a news conference in London last week that Jordan and Israel appeared to be getting closer to an agreement on the terms under which the two sides would be willing to negotiate, but he acknowledged that they still disagreed on such major points as who would represent the Palestinians in the negotiations.

Jordan has been pressing for the convening of an international conference to settle the Middle East problem and wants to include the PLO and the Soviet Union in the discussions.

Israel and the United States have appeared wary of the conference idea, advocating instead direct talks between Jordan and Israel. In recent days, however, both the United States and Israel appeared to be coming closer to accepting some form of international conference.

Arafat’s meetings with Hussein are expected to last several days, since it is likely that Arafat will listen to whatever proposals the king received from Murphy in London before making any decision on the two U.N. resolutions.

Only a few days ago, a high-ranking PLO official told reporters here that Arafat would reject the disputed resolutions.

But another PLO official said that acceptance was still regarded as a possibility, provided the United States met PLO conditions. These include a guarantee from Washington that acceptance of the resolutions would ensure PLO participation in any peace negotiations and American recognition of Palestinian rights to self-determination, a vague formulation that has come to mean an independent homeland, a concept unacceptable to the United States.

There has been considerable speculation, notably in the United States and Israel, that Hussein intends to jettison Arafat as a partner in the peace process if he does not accept the U.N. resolutions. Various deadlines have been reported, ranging from today to March 1.

A new element in the equation in recent days has been reports that the PLO leadership has taken steps to improve relations with Syria, which has opposed Arafat’s leadership since 1983 and has provided sanctuary to PLO rebels.

Reports in the Jordanian press have said that Salah Khalaf, a member of the central committee of Fatah, Arafat’s dominant PLO faction, met secretly in Paris last month with Rifaat Assad, the brother of Syrian President Hafez Assad.

According to the press reports, Khalaf, who is also known as Abu Iyad, agreed with Rifaat Assad to halt verbal attacks against Syria. The reports said the controlled Syrian news media has also adopted a similar policy toward Arafat.

In addition, Syria was reported to have offered an improvement in relations if the PLO gives assurances that it renounces any military role in Lebanon and that it will cancel Arafat’s February agreement with Jordan.

The efforts to arrange a reconciliation with Syria followed a meeting in Moscow earlier this month between Farouk Kaddoumi, head of the PLO’s political department, and Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze. Syria is the Soviet Union’s closest ally in the region.

The Soviets are said to have urged the PLO to avoid making any major concessions to take part in an American-led peace initiative. Arab diplomats here believe the Soviets specifically asked the PLO to reject Resolutions 242 and 338.

The Soviets are also believed to have insisted that Arafat, as a condition for continued Soviet support, reconcile with the dissident Palestinian factions now based in Damascus and improve ties with the Syrians.

Hussein has also tried to improve relations with Syria lately. The king visited Damascus last month and met with President Assad for two days.