Jordanians Off to Talks; Palestinians Still Hold Back

Acting independently from its main Arab partners in peace talks with Israel, Jordan sent a team to Moscow on Sunday for a multinational Middle East conference beginning Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Kamel abu Jaber and a seven-man team of ambassadors and experts on military and economic affairs, Palestinian refugees and the environment headed for the Russian capital despite a boycott by Syria and Lebanon.

“We don’t need an Arab authorization to go to the talks,” Abu Jaber told reporters before leaving. “We have our own independent views, and we are going as a Jordanian delegation.”

Meanwhile, Palestinian leaders in the Israeli-occupied territories have sent the Palestine Liberation Organization a list of reasons against taking part in the Moscow talks, chief spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi said Sunday.

“We gave a full analysis of the conditions here--public opinion among the Palestinians, our view of the conditions such as lack of Arab coordination and lack of progress in bilateral talks. Conditions are not satisfactory,” Ashrawi said.

“Given absence of popular support and absence of genuine Palestinian participation, we sent an analysis to the PLO leadership, which will make its decisions. We will not preempt the decision,” she said.

The Moscow meeting, due to discuss secondary regional issues, is the third phase of the fragile U.S.-brokered Middle East peace process that began in Madrid in October.