In early March, King Hussein of Jordan declared that he will not return to the peace process unless approached by the Palestinians. Israel had long felt that the Jordanian monarch must be included in any Middle Eastern peace process. This was again reiterated by Foreign Minister Arens, then on a visit to Washington. Mr. Peres thought that without an international conference, there was no chance that King Hussein would agree to represent the Palestinians or come to the negotiating table instead of them or without them. Excerpts:
Q: This morning Foreign Minister Moshe Arens stated that King Hussein must be included in the peace process in the region. What is your reaction to this change in his stand?
A: I fear that this is a far too belated awakening, since in the meantime, Hussein made his announcement. I always favored including Hussein, and even more, I do not believe that Hussein will come without an international opening, so I think that Mr. Arens should take that into account.
Q: Can he now be brought back to the negotiating table, and if so, how?
A: According to what he has said, if he is not approached by the Palestinians, he will not return. I believe that this is the case for the time being, but as far as I know, there is no chance in the world that Hussein will come without an international conference.
Q: Given the current situation, do you think Hussein will agree to represent the Palestinians?
A: In place of them, or without them, definitely not. Only with them, and on the basis of their request. And today, I believe, the negotiations must be begun from the Palestinian side, and not the Jordanian side. There was a time when we could have begun with the Jordanian side, and today we would already have been deep into negotiations. But unfortunately, this was rejected by the Likud, and I think that this is a grave error for which we will pay the full price.