Jordan’s King Hopes for Open Talks With Israel : Mideast: Hussein says he will press ahead with peace negotiations without relying on Syria’s lead.

After decades of alleged secret meetings with Israeli leaders, Jordan’s King Hussein said Tuesday that he hopes the revival of peace talks next month will lead to an open meeting between the former enemies, perhaps even before the signing of a full treaty.

“It is very possible; I’m quite flexible,” he told a news conference here. “When there is a reason, then we’ll meet. (There) is nothing to prevent that.”

The king is in Washington for meetings as Jordan and Israel prepare for their first peace talks in the region next month. The talks will alternate between their respective ports of Aqaba and Eilat, which face each other on the northern Red Sea coast.

The Jordanian leader’s comments reflect the depth of change in the region as the peace process accelerates after the signing of the Israel-Palestine Liberation Organization accord in May. “We are on the verge of beginning the serious negotiations that we need to establish peace between us,” he said.

The Jordanian monarch also said he is prepared to plunge ahead with Israel no matter what Syria does. While noting that all parties are hoping for a “comprehensive peace,” he said that Jordan’s position “is not linked to anything that may or may not happen on any other track.”

He said that he and Syrian President Hafez Assad have been in touch and “understand each other very well.” But he made it clear that Damascus would not call the shots. “In this situation, we feel that nobody has the right to ask us what we do, and we have the responsibility towards ourselves, our land, towards our rights, to do whatever we can to safeguard our interests,” he said.

After the PLO pact, mediation between Israel and Syria was given priority, with the help of shuttle diplomacy by Secretary of State Warren Christopher. Both Jordan and Lebanon were expected to defer to Syria. But after the initial exchange of positions in May and a follow-up shuttle last month, the Syria track stalled.

Israel, looking for another partner to sustain the momentum, turned to a willing partner in Amman.

Hussein, who has ruled Jordan for more than four decades, said pointedly that the major Arab players have never fully coordinated their strategies in dealing with Israel. But overall, he added, the peace process has now reached a point where it is “irreversible.”

Throughout dozens of earlier peace efforts, Hussein had distanced himself publicly from open meetings with Israeli leaders, though he is reported to have spent hundreds of hours with assorted Israeli government officials, including prime ministers, from both the Labor and Likud parties. He allegedly even has piloted his own helicopter to secret rendezvous.

The king first indicated his willingness for talks shortly before he met with Christopher on Monday.

In response, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin said he would “be happy to meet with King Hussein and with Jordanian officials at any time, anywhere, for the good of peace between the two peoples.” Rabin also called Tuesday for direct talks with Syria.

During his U.S. visit, Hussein also underwent a medical checkup. Two years after cancer surgery, he said he was given a clean bill of health.