Murphy, Shamir Resume Talks on Middle East Peace

U.S. special envoy Richard W. Murphy met with Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir on Thursday in what he described as a “constant search” for ways to revive efforts toward a comprehensive Middle East peace agreement.

Murphy crossed the Jordan River into Israel earlier Thursday to give Shamir a report on his two days of talks with King Hussein and Jordanian officials in Amman, where no progress was evident.

“This was a time for continued quiet diplomacy. This is the continuation of a constant search for peace among our friends in the Middle East,” the assistant secretary of state told reporters after meeting with the prime minister.

Shamir spokesman Avi Pazner said Murphy may return to Israel next week after visits to Egypt and Jordan.

First Since Shamir Took Over

The two-week shuttle mission is Murphy’s first to the region since Shamir, leader of the right-wing Likud Bloc, became prime minister Oct. 20 under the government coalition arrangement. Labor Party leader Shimon Peres, who had been prime minister, now has Shamir’s former job as foreign minister.

Israeli officials have said they expect no tangible results from the renewed U.S. diplomacy effort. Murphy said when he arrived in Jordan on Tuesday that he did not anticipate major developments.

In the Israeli view, the visit has the equally important goal of restoring U.S. credibility among Jordan and Egypt, moderate Arab nations angered by disclosures of American arms sales to Iran.

Backing for Hussein, Mubarak

Government officials interviewed before Murphy’s arrival also see the mission as a demonstration of support for King Hussein and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt before the Islamic summit scheduled to begin Jan. 26 in Kuwait.

They said Mubarak is expected to seek Arab backing at the summit for a renewed peace initiative with Israel to include Jordanian participation.

Hussein repeated to Murphy his call for an international conference on the Middle East with the participation of all parties concerned and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council--the United States, Soviet Union, China, Britain and France.

Rejected in the Past

Shamir and other Israeli leaders have rejected such a forum in the past, insisting on direct negotiations involving two or three parties.

Mubarak and Peres, who then was prime minister, agreed last September on a plan to convene a preparatory meeting that could lead to a multiparty peace conference. Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1979.

Hussein wants the Palestinians to be represented by the Palestine Liberation Organization, but Shamir rejects that. Israel defines the PLO as a terrorist organization bent on destroying the Jewish state.

In a speech Thursday at a Dead Sea hotel, Shamir publicly appealed to Hussein to meet him anywhere to discuss making peace.

‘Meet Us Face to Face’

“I address myself to King Hussein on the other side of the sea to meet us, face to face, anywhere, to discuss peace between our two countries,” he said.

A senior aide to Shamir said a three-way peace summit with Hussein and Mubarak is possible in Washington, where the three are due to visit next month.

The aide, Yosef Ben Aharon, director general of Shamir’s office, said he would prefer a meeting in a city either in Jordan or Egypt.

“Let’s meet in Aqaba or El Arish,” he said.

Ben Aharon told Israeli Arabic Television: “I do not think this is a faraway dream. I am working toward this aim. This is something that can be expected and for which we can work.”