No New Peace Initiatives Now, Hussein Says

King Hussein of Jordan, speaking at a rare press conference, said Saturday that there are no new initiatives or plans under way to bring peace to the Middle East.

The Jordanian monarch said he continues to have “serious differences” with the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization over what approach to take toward peace talks.

Hussein’s government last week reached a turning point in its relations with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat by closing 25 offices of Fatah, the mainstream guerrilla group that Arafat heads.

While breaking little new ground, Hussein’s press conference was significant as a sign that his government has decided to ease a clampdown on journalists who have recently been restricted in their coverage of Jordan’s often stormy relations with the Palestinian leadership.

Proposal by Soviets

Hussein hailed the recent Soviet proposal to convene a meeting of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council--the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, France and China--on the subject of the Middle East.

The United States and Britain have rejected Moscow’s call for a meeting, but Hussein said that he found the proposal to be a “very, very important development.”

He said that while a meeting planned by the foreign ministers of Iraq and Syria had not taken place as Jordan had hoped, the meeting was merely postponed and not cancelled. Hussein had acted as the mediator in arranging talks between Iraq and Syria, which have been bitter enemies since the late 1970s. Jordan supports Iraq in its war against Iran, while Syria supports Iran.

Hussein declined to comment when asked about efforts to get Palestinian mayors appointed to replace Israeli military rulers in the occupied West Bank of the Jordan River, but he expressed hope that “intimidation will cease” against Palestinians there, “be it Israeli or otherwise.”

Threats From Guerrillas

This was a thinly veiled reference to threats from Palestinian guerrilla groups to murder any Palestinians who agree to serve in jobs under Israeli appointment. In March, gunmen killed Zafer Masri, who had been appointed by the Israelis, with Jordanian support, as mayor of Nablus.

The Jordanians have suggested that Palestinians be appointed in three other West Bank towns.

The king appeared pessimistic about the chances of peace in the region, saying that there is a growing polarization between the Arabs and the Israelis.

When he was asked if he were considering a new peace initiative, he replied, “We don’t have a new initiative, nor do we have a new plan.”

As in the past, Hussein blamed the PLO leadership for having lost a number of opportunities for peace. But he declined to state specifically whether Jordan was working to oust the current PLO leadership or seek alternate partners from among the Palestinians.