Mitterrand Assures Saudis of French Solidarity Against Iraq : Diplomacy: The trip to meet with King Fahd is first by a Western leader since the invasion of Kuwait.

Seeking to calm Arab fears of a crack in the international alliance against Iraq, French President Francois Mitterrand flew to Saudi Arabia on Thursday and assured King Fahd and French military commanders that Paris remains committed to the international embargo against Iraq “no matter how long it takes.”

The French president’s visit, the first by a Western leader to the troubled Persian Gulf since the Aug. 2 invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, included two hours of meetings with the Saudi monarch and a review of arriving units of a French force that is now approaching 14,000 men.

French diplomatic sources said the trip was intended in part to quiet the Arab alarm bells that sounded after a controversial Mitterrand speech of Sept. 24, in which he said that an Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait and freeing of foreign hostages could make “everything possible,” including negotiations on Iraq’s grievances and a wider conference on peace throughout the Middle East.

Some Arab officials privately accused France of trying to launch its own peace initiative and were particularly critical of the French president’s failure to demand the return of the Kuwaiti royal family when discussing restoration of Kuwait’s sovereignty--a key issue for gulf monarchs whose regimes were suddenly threatened when Iraq moved into Kuwait.

Although no statement was issued on the talks, French diplomats said Mitterrand planned to discuss proposals for resolving the crisis peacefully and to reassure King Fahd that France would not advocate any elections in Kuwait until the emirate’s ruling Sabah family was returned to power.

However, the French president also planned to emphasize that an Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait would provide “a good opportunity” to address other longstanding problems in the region, including the Arab-Israeli conflict and the fighting in Lebanon, according to a French diplomat based in the region.

French officials said they remain convinced that while the military buildup in Saudi Arabia and the gulf can be an effective deterrent to further Iraqi aggression, the international air and sea embargo against Iraq should be given a chance to work before the military option is exercised.

Diplomatic sources in Saudi Arabia said Mitterrand’s assurances amounted to “backpedaling” and that King Fahd will continue to insist that there be no negotiations with Iraq until Iraq has withdrawn its troops from Kuwait and restored Kuwait’s legitimate government.

“The king is making it clear that we want clarification from the French,” one source said. “He is saying, ‘You’re undermining the Western alliance; you’re undermining the whole world’s position against Iraq. Why? Because of some contracts?’ ”

This source said that leaders in the gulf region and in Egypt were angered by Mitterrand’s speech to the U.N. General Assembly.

“The only way to explain this is the French are being perverse again,” he said. “It certainly was not thought out, and it certainly was not timed right.”

Mitterrand’s two-hour talk with King Fahd at the Hamra Guest Palace in Jidda came midway through a whirlwind, 24-hour tour of the region that began Wednesday in the United Arab Emirates, where he talked with President Zayed ibn Sultan al Nuhayan.

Mitterrand, accompanied by Foreign Minister Roland Dumas and Defense Minister Jean-Pierre Chevenement, spent the night on the French destroyer Dupleix before flying to Jidda and on to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, where he met commanders of French ground forces being deployed in northeastern Saudi Arabia.

Spokesman Hubert Bedrine told reporters in Jidda that Mitterrand emphasized to his military commanders that the blockade was crucial in attempting to resolve the crisis. The president said France will remain committed to the embargo “no matter how long it takes,” Bedrine said.

In talks with the Saudi monarch, Mitterrand’s U.N. address was discussed only in general terms, Bedrine added.

France’s commitment in the gulf now represents its largest military buildup since the Algerian war for independence that ended in 1962.

France now has nearly 5,000 troops, including French Legionnaires, deployed in Saudi Arabia. Another 6,000 French soldiers, airmen and sailors are in the gulf region. The Defense Ministry announced that France will send eight more Mirage fighter planes to the United Arab Emirates.