§ Mr. Lathamaskd the Prime Minister whether the Government have received any request from King Hussein for United Kingdom Ministers to meet the deputation of Jordanians and Palestinians currently visiting Italy and France; and whether Her Majesty's Government will make clear that their policy regarding ministerial contact with representatives of the Palestine Liberation Organisation remains unchanged.
§ The Prime MinisterThe Italian and French Governments received a joint Jordanian/Palestinian delegation in late June at the request of King Hussein. We ourselves are in close touch with King Hussein and are examining how best we can support his courageous efforts to move towards peace negotiations. As is well known, contacts at ministerial level with the PLO remain difficult while PLO attitudes on Israel's right to exist and on the use of violence remain ambiguous.