Delegates Gather for Mideast Peace Talks in Moscow : Diplomacy: Multilateral conference is marred by Palestinian dispute and absence of Syria, Lebanon.

Officials from nearly two dozen countries descended on the Russian capital Monday for talks that, although marred by disputes over the Palestinian delegation and the absence of two key players, are still expected to open a new phase in the Middle East peace process.

Scheduled for today and Wednesday, the conference brings nations as far afield as China and India, along with Arab states that do not border Israel, into the multilateral stage of the peace talks that began with last October’s historic meeting in Madrid.

Russian, Israeli and Arab officials all said Monday that they expect little of substance to be decided at the Moscow meeting of 22 nations.

“We are here with modest expectations,” said Moshe Raviv, deputy director general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry. “We have no illusions. We know how difficult it is to move things forward in the Middle East.”

But he and other spokesmen praised the conference for its potential to advance the painstaking process one step further--even if, in this case, the step will consist only of deciding the timing, locations and perhaps some agendas for further meetings.

The talks are to be focused not on Arab-Israeli peace but on creating a framework to discuss regional issues such as arms control, water, economic cooperation and the environment; at the Palestinians’ insistence, refugee problems are likely to be added to the agenda.

“These are negotiations about negotiations,” said Vladimir F. Petrovsky, chairman of the Russian Foreign Ministry committee that planned the talks. “Nothing essential will be discussed here.”

Still, Petrovsky maintained, “the process itself is important. We forget that the process is as important as the goals.”

Despite these low expectations for results, the Palestine Liberation Organization deliberated throughout the weekend over whether the Palestinian delegates should boycott the talks.

Lebanon and Syria, two of the most crucial members of the peace process, pointedly stayed away from the Moscow talks as a sign of their displeasure over the lack of progress in the bilateral negotiations in Washington.

The Palestinian representatives, who are part of the Jordanian delegation, complained that the United States had violated a promise to allow Palestinians living in exile and in Jerusalem to join the West Bank and Gaza Strip residents in the delegation.

But both Russia and the United States, the conference’s co-sponsors, refused point-blank to allow the Palestinian delegation to change its composition.

“It’s the position of the co-sponsors that the Palestinians should attend under the Madrid formula,” Secretary of State James A. Baker III said here Monday evening.

Alexander Belonogov, one of the Russian delegation members, said that “the Palestinians know our position”--that they must attend in the same configuration as before--”though we’re sorry.”

Officials at the Palestinian headquarters in Moscow said that delegates, including spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi and Palestinian leader Faisal Husseini, flew in Monday evening and would be negotiating late into the night with their American and Russian hosts over their participation.

One American official said that Palestinian and Jordanian willingness to attend indicates that Syrian influence on them continues to diminish.

“The Syrians don’t have their veto power anymore,” he said, recalling Syrian pressure on Jordan, the Palestinians and the Persian Gulf states to stay away. “The worst case for (Syrian President) Hafez Assad is to put pressure on other people and have nothing happen.”

For Russia, in contrast, the conference is a heartening sign that it can retain some of the former Soviet Union’s prominence in foreign affairs despite its internal turmoil.

Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev told reporters that his country is eager to continue its active role in the Middle East.

“Our goal is to play the very honest, open role of broker in this process. It is essential to find a compromise,” he said after a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy.

Russian officials said that they still hold out hope that Syria and Lebanon will decide to participate later on, once the talks on the different regional issues have split into separate meetings in far-flung cities.

Israeli and Arab foreign ministers are expected to broach significant initiatives in speeches today, but they would reveal little about what they will propose.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Kamel abu Jaber said, “It’s not appropriate for me to show my hand now.” But one thing is clear, he said: After decades of conflict, “it’s time for us to stop.”

“I think it’s time for the three monotheistic religions to reconcile themselves to each other,” he said, referring to Islam, Judaism and Christianity. “It’s time for the sons of Abraham to recognize each other.”

Who’s Invited to the Talks

Here is a list of countries and groups invited to Middle East talks, as compiled by the Associated Press.

NATIONS

United States, Russia, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritania, Japan, Canada, Turkey, China, Lebanon, Syria, Algeria, Yemen

GROUPS

Palestinians, European Community, European Free Trade Assn., Gulf Cooperation Council