Meeting With King Khalid of Saudi Arabia White House Statement.

The President is delighted that King Khalid of Saudi Arabia was able to accept his invitation for lunch today. He is very thankful for his Majesty's rapid recovery, and we are honored that His Majesty chose to visit the United States for medical treatment at the Cleveland Clinic.

During the luncheon, the President and His Majesty discussed a number of important issues of mutual interest, including their joint commitment to peace and security, in the Middle East. The President took the opportunity to explain personally to His Majesty the efforts made to that end in the Camp David accords, and discussed with His Majesty the current status of the negotiations foreseen in those accords. His Majesty assured the President that Saudi Arabia appreciates greatly the efforts which the President is making to help bring lasting peace to the area and desires to remain in close contact with the United States about them.

As is characteristic of our exchanges with the Saudi leadership, these discussions were carried out in an atmosphere of longstanding friendship, deep mutuality of interest, and well-tested spirit of cooperation.

The luncheon lasted approximately 90 minutes. The participants were as follows:

Saudi Arabian Side

His Majesty Khalid bin Abd al-Aziz al-Sa'ud, King of Saudi Arabia;

His Royal Highness Prince Sultan bin Abd al-Aziz al-Sa'ud, Minister of Defense and Aviation;

Dr. Rashad Pharaon, Presidential Advisor;

His Excellency All Abdallah Alireza, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the United States;

His Excellency Mohammed al-Nowaizer, Minister for Royal Diwan;

His Excellency Ahmed Abd al-Wahab, Chief of Royal Protocol;

Dr. Fadl al-Rahman, King Khalid's personal physician. U.S. Side

The President;

Secretary of State Cyrus Vance;

Secretary of the Treasury W. Michael Blumenthal;

Secretary of Defense Harold Brown;

Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs;

Hamilton Jordan, Assistant to the President;

Alfred L. Atherton, Jr., Ambassador at Large;

John C. West, United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia;

Harold H. Saunders, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs;

William B. Quandt, National Security Council staff member;

Isa Sabbagh, interpreter;

Dr. Rezavai, heart specialist, Cleveland Clinic.