ARABS-ISRAEL - July 21 - King Abdullah Discusses Summit.

Jordan's King Abdullah discusses the ME summit at Camp David in separate telephone conversations with Israeli PM Barak, Egyptian Pres. Mubarak and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah. 'PETRA' quotes Jordanian FM Khatib as saying the monarch's conversations focused on safeguarding Jordan's interests in any final settlement between Israel and the Palestinians and on encouraging the 2 sides to reach a deal. (Barak had phoned the monarch to brief him on the 11-day-old negotiations with Palestinian Pres. Arafat in the US.) 'PETRA' quotes the king as telling Barak that Jordan hoped for a successful outcome. On July 19, the monarch spoke to Clinton and Arafat as part of efforts to salvage the peace talks.) Khatib is quoted as saying the king's contacts aimed at "guaranteeing the protection of the Jordanian interests which are affected by the result of the negotiation process" and focusing on the importance of reaching a viable agreement", adding: "Jordan and other concerned parties ... are exerting all possible efforts to urge the sides to deal with it [summit] in its historic context and to exert all means to reach a just solution ... which means fulfilling the aspirations and legitimate rights of the Palestinian people". He says the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations touched interests vital to Jordan and other Arab and Islamic states, such as Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees. (Jordan, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, has a crucial stake in a lasting ME peace because it is host to over 40% of the nearly 3m UN-registered Palestinian refugees. A majority of Jordanian nationals are also of a Palstinian origin.