LETTER OF INVITATION TO MADRID PEACE CONFERENCE



                              October 30, 1991







     The breakup of the Soviet Union and the Gulf War reshaped the basic

     political order of the Middle East. In an attempt to take advantage of

     this change, US Secretary of State James Baker made eight trips to the

     region in the eight months following the Gulf War. The Madrid

     Invitation, inviting Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and the

     Palestinians to an opening conference represents the result of this

     shuttle diplomacy. The invitation, an outcome of compromises by all

     sides, details the structure of the Madrid process:



        + An opening conference having no power to impose solutions

        + Bilateral talks with the Arab states bordering Israel,

        + Talks with the Palestinians on 5-year interim self-rule, to be

          followed by talks on the permanent status

        + Multilateral talks on key regional issues, like refugees.



     The following is the complete text of the invitation to the Madrid

     Peace Conference on October 30, 1991, jointly issued by the U.S. and

     the Soviet Union:







TEXT:



After extensive consultations with Arab states, Israel and the

Palestinians, the United States and the Soviet Union believe that an

historic opportunity exists to advance the prospects for genuine peace

throughout the region. The United States and the Soviet Union are prepared

to assist the parties to achieve a just, lasting and comprehensive peace

settlement, through direct negotiations along two tracks, between Israel

and the Arab states, and between Israel and the Palestinians, based on

United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. The objective of

this process is real peace.



Toward that end, the president of the U.S. and the president of the USSR

invite you to a peace conference, which their countries will co-sponsor,

followed immediately by direct negotiations. The conference will be

convened in Madrid on October 30, 1991.



President Bush and President Gorbachev request your acceptance of this

invitation no later than 6 P.M. Washington time, October 23, 1991, in order

to ensure proper organization and preparation of the conference.



Direct bilateral negotiations will begin four days after the opening of the

conference. Those parties who wish to attend multilateral negotiations will

convene two weeks after the opening of the conference to organize those

negotiations. The co-sponsors believe that those negotiations should focus

on region-wide issues of water, refugee issues, environment, economic

development, and other subjects of mutual interest.



The co-sponsors will chair the conference which will be held at ministerial

level. Governments to be invited include Israel, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.

Palestinians will be invited and attend as part of a joint

Jordanian-Palestinian delegation. Egypt will be invited to the conference

as a participant. The European Community will be a participant in the

conference, alongside the United States and the Soviet Union and will be

represented by its presidency. The Gulf Cooperation Council will be invited

to send its secretary- general to the conference as an observer, and GCC

member states will be invited to participate in organizing the negotiations

on multilateral issues. The United Nations will be invited to send an

observer, representing the secretary-general.



The conference will have no power to impose solutions on the parties or

veto agreements reached by them. It will have no authority to make

decisions for the parties and no ability to vote on issues of results. The

conference can reconvene only with the consent of all the parties.



With respect to negotiations between Israel and Palestinians who are part

of the joint Jordanian- Palestinian delegation, negotiations will be

conducted in phases, beginning with talks on interim self- government

arrangements. These talks will be conducted with the objective of reaching

agreement within one year. Once agreed, the interim self-government

arrangements will last for a period of five years; beginning the third year

of the period of interim self-government arrangements, negotiations will

take place on permanent status. These permanent status negotiations, and

the negotiations between Israel and the Arab states, will take place on the

basis of Resolutions 242 and 338.



It is understood that the co-sponsors are committed to making this process

succeed. It is their intention to convene the conference and negotiations

with those parties who agree to attend.



The co-sponsors believe that this process offers the promise of ending

decades of confrontation and conflict and the hope of a lasting peace.

Thus, the co-sponsors hope that the parties will approach these

negotiations in a spirit of good will and mutual respect. In this way, the

peace process can begin to break down the mutual suspicions and mistrust

that perpetuate the conflict and allow the parties to begin to resolve

their differences. Indeed, only through such a process can real peace and

reconciliation among the Arab states, Israel and the Palestinians be

achieved. And only through this process can the peoples of the Middle East

attain the peace and security they richly deserve.