Saudis will not join in parley with Israel // But they back Baker push for peace talks

JEDDAH Saudi Arabia said Sunday it would not join a peaceconference with Israel but backed an initiative for the talks beingpushed by visiting Secretary of State James A. Baker III.

Foreign Minister Prince Saud al Faisal told reporters beforestarting talks with Baker that the United States was seeking theparticipation of Israel's neighbors in a proposed peace conference.

But he said, "Participation in the meeting traditionally hasbeen the countries that are involved directly in peace negotiations,which are Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Israel.

"I think this format is a workable format and it's a practicalformat and we will continue to support the initiatives in thismatter."

After meeting with the prince, Baker is due to hold talkswith King Fahd, who has been a major U.S. ally in the coalition thatousted Iraqi forces from Kuwait in February. Baker, who arrived fromEgypt, is on his third trip to the Middle East since the Persian Gulfwar ended in February, but this trip has thus far shown little signof gaining momentum for the peace drive.

Baker said the proposed conference would involve "five or six orseven countries from different parts of the world and that has beenthe concept that we have been pursuing from the very, verybeginning."

He did not name the countries but they include the UnitedStates, the Soviet Union and some European countries.

Israel has long opposed an international conference, fearing itwould come under pressure by countries sympathetic to thePalestinians. The Jewish state sees the European Community as beingpro-Arab.

After talks Friday in Israel that left major questions such asthe composition of the conference unresolved, there was scant publicevidence that Baker was having any success. He and his aides aregiving few details of the talks and Baker said in Cairo somediscussions were very sensitive.

After talks there with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, hedeclined to answer questions on whether the conference would beattended by Palestinians from Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, despitethe Jewish state's opposition to this.

Nor would he say if the meeting would be largely ceremonial andbreak up into Arab-Israeli direct talks, as Israel wants, or be thestart of continuing negotiations, based on the United Nationsresolutions that foresee Israel exchanging land for peace, asPalestinians and Arab countries want.

But Egyptian Foreign Minister Esmat Abdel Meguid told reportersthat Baker's quick return to the region this week was "proof thatthings are moving" on the peace process.

Baker, who left Jerusalem on Saturday, has said he would notreturn to Israel until he received from Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamiranswers on key issues involving the conference proposal, but he saidhe did not intend to pressure Shamir for an answer.

Baker leaves Saudi Arabia today for his second postwar visit toKuwait. There he is expected to discuss with the Emir Sheikh Jaberal-Ahmed al-Sabah the slow process of returning the country to normaland restoring services after Iraq's seven-month occupation. He alsois expected to discuss Kuwait's efforts at political reform.