Swedes Played Key Role in PLO Diplomacy

Swedish officials said today that they played the key role in mediation that led the United States to drop its ban on direct talks with the Palestine Liberation Organization.

“It is a triumph for diplomacy and reconciliation. And it is a great accomplishment for our foreign minister, Sten Andersson, and for Swedish diplomacy,” Deputy Foreign Minister Pierre Schori said.

His comments were made on the day that police took into custody a suspect in the 1986 assassination of Prime Minister Olof Palme, under whose leadership neutral Sweden was never far from the center of world diplomacy.

Worked for Disarmament

Palme was a U.N.-appointed mediator in the Gulf War and a tireless proponent of international peace and disarmament. But his successor, Ingvar Carlsson, had concentrated on domestic policy, allowing Sweden’s international role to wither.

The first hint that this might be changing came last week when Stockholm hosted talks between PLO leader Yasser Arafat and five American Jews. The document that came out of those talks brought the PLO closer than ever before to recognizing Israel and renouncing terrorism.

Andersson then coaxed Arafat to go the remaining distance necessary to persuade Washington to open official contact with the PLO.

Fruits of His Labor

The fruits of his efforts were seen on Wednesday in Arafat’s news conference in Geneva. In a carefully written statement drafted with Sweden’s help, Arafat met the conditions set out by Washington.

The news conference was delayed for about eight hours to give the Swedes time to work out an acceptable verbal presentation for Arafat, diplomats said.

“We did the right thing at the right time,” Schori said.

He said Swedish efforts to mediate between Arabs and Israelis began with Palme five years ago, when Arafat was invited to Sweden.

“It started in 1983 when Palme invited Arafat to Sweden. The idea was to have him meet with some Jews then, but when his aide Issam Sartawi was killed that year, the idea died too,” Schori said.

Sweden believes it is well-qualified to mediate on Middle East issues because of a longstanding friendship with Israel and because it has the trust of the Palestinians.