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question.
Their positions on this were still far apart, but they had other reasons for talking to one another. King Hussein had gone as far as possible - he could go no further until the question of participation in the PLO delegation was resolved, and this depended on other countries. He enquired about the UK position.
7. The Secretary of State said that for the moment we did not visualise a further approach from the PLO. The fact that the UK meeting had not taken place was paradoxically seen as a missed opportunity for them. King Hussein was gradually strengthening his case for persuading Arafat and his friends to be more moderate. The Achille Lauro affair might also have reinforced in the Palestinian's mind the need for moderation. We needed to sustain our support for King Hussein. M. Dumas said he agreed there had been some progress and that the PLO might be less demanding in the light of recent events. But progress was less dependent on Mr Peres and King Hussein than on Western positions. The Secretary of State said that any proposal for reinstatement of the PLO visit would be considered
on the same terms as were laid down for the earlier visit. Mr Derek Thomas noted that the PLO had revived the idea of a meeting with the Luxembourg Presidency but not with us. The Ten/Twelve were considering guidelines for the press on the Middle East for use by the Presidency after the 19 November Ministerial meeting. The line envisaged was cautious but designed to give encouragement to the Jordanians.
8. M. Dumas said the French favoured the Five as a forum. The Secretary of State said we were in favour of any forum which could contribute to progress
we had no doctrinal views on this.
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9. On Lebanon M. Dumas commented that the Damascus agreements had been reached in difficult conditions. Two parties had now called these agreements into question and the position was unclear.
10.
<d
The Secretary of State urged close collaboration over UK and French hostages in Lebanon. Mr Terry Waite was acting independently of HMG he had gone to Lebanon partly in connection with the US hostages. If we received information from him or others about the four French hostages we would of course pass this to the French
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