Faisal's views at a Busy Majlis

TIME Correspondent Wilton Wynn, who first arrived in the Middle East in 1945 and in the years since has come to know most of its more important leaders, was granted a rare interview with King Faisal. It was not the first meeting between the two: Wynn once interviewed the future King in Cairo in 1947 when Faisal, then his father's Foreign Minister, was en route to New York for the United Nations session that eventually partitioned Palestine. No matter the longevity of the relationship, Wynn noted wryly in a cable from Jeddah, there was no special favor this time. The interview, from the King's point of view at least, was handled routinely along with Faisal's other problems of the day at a busy majlis, or royal audience. Wynn's report of the interview and its salient points:

The King had just returned from evening prayers when he received me in the audience hall. He sat in an armchair centered against the wall at one end of the spacious room. Other armchairs lined the sides of the room, which was decorated with blue and white pilasters, crystal chandeliers and wall-to-wall beige carpet. Other men sat along the walls, and occasionally one would get up silently to hand the King a folded letter or speak quietly to him. Meanwhile, a servant served bitter Bedouin coffee in handleless cups.

The old patriarch was dressed like all the others in the hall, but there was no question about who was King. Some world leaders may have charisma, but Faisal emanates a dignity that stamps him as special. He looks older than 68. His face is deeply wrinkled, his eyelids droop. But, said a young protocol officer wearily, "we young men cannot keep up with him." The King stood to receive me in my turn, shook hands, spoke a few words of welcome and motioned me to a seat. He never smiled, though, or changed his facial expression. His answers to my questions:

ON A PALESTINE SETTLEMENT: "Arab countries are willing to accept a peaceful settlement based on justice and equity. The Arab confrontation countries have repeatedly expressed their approval of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which specifies Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories--that is, from the Golan Heights and the West Bank, including Jerusalem.

"As for setting a timetable, withdrawal can be achieved in a few days when there is serious Israeli willingness to do so. After all, Israel occupied the Arab lands in June 1967 in a few days. So why should it take any longer to withdraw?"

ON THE FUTURE OF JERUSALEM: "We regard the return of occupied Jerusalem to Arab administration as a very essential matter, and we cannot accept any compromise."

ON SAUDI-U.S. RELATIONS: "Saudi Arabia is willing to retain its close relationship with the U.S. The relationship has been good, except when the Americans showed partiality toward Israel. Furthermore, we can safely say that Soviet infiltration in the area came as a result of Western policy in the Arab-Israeli conflict.

"If and when a just and peaceful settlement has been achieved, a settlement that will guarantee the Arabs their rights and sanctuaries in their lands and the Palestinians their natural rights, then the Saudi-American relationships in particular would improve as well as those of the Arabs with America in general."

ON RECYCLING OIL MONEY: "It is wrong to speak only of the need for Saudi Arabia to recycle its money to the West, when our own country is far more in need of major investment than are Western countries. But by this I do not mean that we will fail to do our part in cooperating with others. We realize that we are part of a world economic structure, and so are affected by whatever emanates from this structure, for good or bad. Furthermore, we have no intention of contributing to the already worsening economic crisis that the world is undergoing today. We are quite willing to invest our surplus money in the industrialized, oil-consuming countries and also in the developing countries whenever that is needed. But we would like to remind everyone that the energy problem is by no means the major cause of the economic crisis, that energy costs have contributed no more than 2% to worldwide inflation, according to estimates by experts."

As far as the prospects of Middle East peace are concerned, King Faisal's answers to TIME'S questions were essentially hopeful ones. Once again he underlined his government's acceptance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which is another way of saying that Israel has the right to live in security once it withdraws fully from Arab lands seized in 1967. The King made clear that East Jerusalem must be handed back to the Arabs along with other occupied territory; he showed no sign of compromise on that point. He also reminded the U.S. that the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War opened the door to Soviet penetration of the Middle East and that, conversely, settling the conflict would give America a chance for much improved relations with the Arabs.

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