As Peace Talks Cool, King Keeps Visit to Israel Brief

Jordan’s new king on Sunday paid his first state visit to Israel, underplaying the pomp and ceremony in a pointed reference to the precarious state of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

King Abdullah II eschewed a high-profile reception for the visit, which had been scheduled for February but was delayed because of fighting between Israel and Lebanese guerrillas. At his insistence, he met Prime Minister Ehud Barak for a scant four hours in Eilat, a resort at the head of the Red Sea’s Gulf of Aqaba.

The young king, whose country signed a peace agreement with Israel in 1994, made it clear that the collapsed talks with Syria and the troubled Palestinian track were making it harder for him to maintain warm ties.

The Palestinians say Israel is not offering them enough of the West Bank, and Syria wants a commitment that Israel will return the disputed Golan Heights. Barak says he first wants to see the security arrangements the Syrians have to offer.

Since taking power in February 1999, Abdullah has tried to restore Jordan’s ties with the Arabs, which were strained by his late father King Hussein’s pronounced pro-Western outlook.

Still, on Sunday the sides radiated friendliness. Abdullah twice remarked on the beauty of Eilat, and he and Barak discussed plans for an international airport that would serve Eilat and its Jordanian sister city, Aqaba.