PLO man meets Gromyko to help in Syrian dispute

A high-ranking Palestine Liberation Organization official met with Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko to seek the Kremlin's help in resolving the PLO's dispute with Syria, a Palestinian spokesman said.

Western observers had predicted the official, Farouk Kaddoumi, might be preparing the way for a visit by PLO chairman Yasser Arafat. But in Tunis, Mr. Arafat said he did not intend to come to Moscow in the near future. He had been scheduled to visit the USSR this week.

In Tripoli, Lebanon, a PLO spokesman said Muhannad Ameri, the chief PLO representative in Damascus, disappeared in Syria last Saturday and is thought to have been arrested.