U.S. mission to Hussein fails

Press, 6 March 1978, Page 8

U.S. mission to Hussein fails

NZPA-Reuter Amman The United States’ special envoy in the Middle East, Mr Alfred Atherton, was due to leave Amman for Saudi Arabia late yesterday after apparently having failed to persuade King Hussein of Jordan to join the Middle East peace negotiations.

Mr Atherton is expected to spend two days in Riyadh where he will have talks with King Khalid and Crown Prince Fahd. W e I 1-informed sources said that the Saudis were expected to take the same position as the Jordanians: that there could be no peace settlement unless Israel withdrew from all occupied Arab territories, including Jerusalem, and recognised Palestinian rights. The United States Embassy in Amman said that Mr Atherton and King Hussein had had “a very good talk” on Saturday. The United States Assistant Secretary of State gave the king a detailed account of the efforts by Egypt and Israel to reach agreement, on a declaration of principles

1 which would be the basis of i further peace talks. The em- ; bassy statement said that i Mr Atherton had emphasised the United States conviction ; that the settlement “we all > seek must resolve all the > issues, including, of course, : peaceful relations, withdra- . wal from occupied territories, secure and recognised f boundaries, and the Palestinian issue in all respects.” i But before the meeting, the Information Minister (Mr Adnan Abu Odeb) was ’ quoted by Jordanian news- ' papers as saying that Jordan ■ was not ready to join the negotiations. Mr Atherton, who is shut- ■ tling between Israel and ’ Egypt and other Arab States • in an attempt to find com- ' mon ground for restarting 1 the stalled peace talks, is i expected to go back to Is-

' rael tomorrow night after his Riyadh visit. In Cairo, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt has said that the American decision to sell arms to Egypt has ended 25 years of Israeli monopoly of American weapons, the Middle East News Agency has said. “American weapons and friendship had been a monopoly to Israel since 1953,” he told the magazine, “October.” in an interview. Subject to Congressional approval the American Administration has agreed to sell 50 F 5 fighter-bombers to Egypt, 60 Fl 5 fighters to Saudi Arabia, and 75 Fl 6 fighter-bombers to Israel. The American Secretary of State (Mr Cyrus Vance) has said that Congress will have to make its decision on all three deals as one package.