Arafat in USSR; US plan touchy
Moscow
Yasser Arafat, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), arrived in Moscow amid signs the Soviets may be unhappy with his stand on US peace proposals, Monitor correspondent Ted Temko writes.
Mr. Arafat, while stressing that the Reagan administration's blueprint does not go far enough, has spoken of some ''positive'' elements in it.
He has also held talks with Jordan's King Hussein which, some Western press reports suggest, touched on the possibility of a joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation in negotiations emanating from the US proposal. The United States has no official contact with the PLO, saying this can come only after the organization has recognized Israel's right to exist.
In recent weeks, the Soviet news media have carried statements by other Palestinians more sharply critical of the US plan than were some comments by Arafat. At least initially, Moscow has given almost no publicity to the Arafat visit here, which began Tuesday.
The Soviets have denounced the Reagan plan - issued last autumn, and envisaging eventual joint Jordanian-Palestinian control of the West Bank - as pro-Israeli.
Moscow argues that rather than a US follow-up to the Camp David process, a wider international parley on Mideast peace should be held, with Soviet and PLO participation. The Soviets proposes that the end point should be creation of a full-fledged Palestinian state - the official position of virtually all Arab leaders, including Mr. Arafat - instead of more limited Palestinian control of territory captured by Israel in the 1967 war.