Gulf Arab leaders talk tough on Iran and Syria
ABU DHABI (Reuters) - U.S.-allied Gulf Arab leaders, alarmed at neighboring Iran's nuclear ambitions, examined proposals for a nuclear-free zone in the world's top oil-producing region during summit talks on Sunday.
Delegates said Syria's standoff with the United Nations over the killing of former Lebanese premier Rafik al-Hariri was also discussed during the meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which groups Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar.
The six leaders, who will resume talks on Monday before issuing a final communiqu, hope to defuse mounting tension in a region already affected by instability in Iraq and militant attacks by supporters of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.
"The international community is calling for an end to the spread of weapons of mass destruction. This has become a global demand. One day, our grandchildren should be able to live in safety from this evil," Youssef bin Alwai bin Abdullah, the Omani minister responsible for foreign affairs, told reporters shortly before the talks ended for the day.
Earlier, GCC Secretary-General Abdul Rahman al-Attiya said the leaders were very worried about Iran's nuclear ambitions.
"We trust Iran but we don't want to see an Iranian nuclear plant which is closer in distance to our Gulf shores than to Tehran causing us danger and damage," he said.
A Gulf delegate said the GCC wanted Iran to open its nuclear facilities to international inspection.
"Gulf countries want guarantees and transparency from Iran over its nuclear facilities. They want to know what measures Iran has for the safety of the environment," he added.
NUCLEAR-FREE GULF REGION
Attiya had said one of the proposals on the agenda was for a deal to be brokered between Iran and neighboring GCC states to make the region nuclear-free.
"As Iranian officials say the program is for peaceful purposes, why can't an agreement come into effect between all countries concerned and which could include Iraq and Yemen in the future?
"This will pave the way for a Middle East agreement which Israel could eventually become part of," he said.
"This will prompt the international community to press Israel to open its (nuclear sites) for inspection."
Israel has never acknowledged it has a nuclear weapons program but is widely believed to have about 200 nuclear warheads.
Tehran insists its nuclear program is for energy, but many fear it plans to develop atomic weapons. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's verbal salvoes at Israel, including his call for the Jewish state to be wiped off the map, have also caused alarm.
"Israel is a country that exists and which is recognized by the United Nations. The Palestinians are cooperating with it, the Arab countries are negotiating with it and we have an Arab League position in favor of achieving peace," Oman's Abdullah told reporters when asked about Ahmadinejad's remarks.
Oman established low-level diplomatic ties with Israel but they have been suspended during the past 4-1/2 years of Israeli-Palestinian violence.
The GCC will also discuss a violent campaign by al Qaeda against Gulf states and Saudi King Abdullah's proposal earlier this year to set up an international center to combat terrorism.
The UAE has been spared the kind of militant attacks which have hit neighboring Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar, but organizers have taken no risks, increasing police patrols and cordoning off streets around the summit's venue.
The GCC leaders are expected to issue a strongly worded statement urging Damascus to fully cooperate with the UN investigation into Hariri's death.
"They all agree that they don't want nuclear weapons in Iran and they don't want Syrian intervention in Lebanon but they need to agree on what to do about it," one GCC delegate said. "We don't want to waste another six months without sincere and real cooperation between Syria and the UN"
GCC delegates said the Sunni-led GCC would also discuss ways to curb what they see as Shi'ite Iran's growing influence in Iraq, where Shi'ites gained power after the ouster of Saddam Hussein. Saudi Arabia has bluntly accused Iran of meddling.
Delegates said Syria's standoff with the United Nations over the killing of former Lebanese premier Rafik al-Hariri was also discussed during the meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which groups Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar.
The six leaders, who will resume talks on Monday before issuing a final communiqu, hope to defuse mounting tension in a region already affected by instability in Iraq and militant attacks by supporters of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.
"The international community is calling for an end to the spread of weapons of mass destruction. This has become a global demand. One day, our grandchildren should be able to live in safety from this evil," Youssef bin Alwai bin Abdullah, the Omani minister responsible for foreign affairs, told reporters shortly before the talks ended for the day.
Earlier, GCC Secretary-General Abdul Rahman al-Attiya said the leaders were very worried about Iran's nuclear ambitions.
"We trust Iran but we don't want to see an Iranian nuclear plant which is closer in distance to our Gulf shores than to Tehran causing us danger and damage," he said.
A Gulf delegate said the GCC wanted Iran to open its nuclear facilities to international inspection.
"Gulf countries want guarantees and transparency from Iran over its nuclear facilities. They want to know what measures Iran has for the safety of the environment," he added.
NUCLEAR-FREE GULF REGION
Attiya had said one of the proposals on the agenda was for a deal to be brokered between Iran and neighboring GCC states to make the region nuclear-free.
"As Iranian officials say the program is for peaceful purposes, why can't an agreement come into effect between all countries concerned and which could include Iraq and Yemen in the future?
"This will pave the way for a Middle East agreement which Israel could eventually become part of," he said.
"This will prompt the international community to press Israel to open its (nuclear sites) for inspection."
Israel has never acknowledged it has a nuclear weapons program but is widely believed to have about 200 nuclear warheads.
Tehran insists its nuclear program is for energy, but many fear it plans to develop atomic weapons. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's verbal salvoes at Israel, including his call for the Jewish state to be wiped off the map, have also caused alarm.
"Israel is a country that exists and which is recognized by the United Nations. The Palestinians are cooperating with it, the Arab countries are negotiating with it and we have an Arab League position in favor of achieving peace," Oman's Abdullah told reporters when asked about Ahmadinejad's remarks.
Oman established low-level diplomatic ties with Israel but they have been suspended during the past 4-1/2 years of Israeli-Palestinian violence.
The GCC will also discuss a violent campaign by al Qaeda against Gulf states and Saudi King Abdullah's proposal earlier this year to set up an international center to combat terrorism.
The UAE has been spared the kind of militant attacks which have hit neighboring Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar, but organizers have taken no risks, increasing police patrols and cordoning off streets around the summit's venue.
The GCC leaders are expected to issue a strongly worded statement urging Damascus to fully cooperate with the UN investigation into Hariri's death.
"They all agree that they don't want nuclear weapons in Iran and they don't want Syrian intervention in Lebanon but they need to agree on what to do about it," one GCC delegate said. "We don't want to waste another six months without sincere and real cooperation between Syria and the UN"
GCC delegates said the Sunni-led GCC would also discuss ways to curb what they see as Shi'ite Iran's growing influence in Iraq, where Shi'ites gained power after the ouster of Saddam Hussein. Saudi Arabia has bluntly accused Iran of meddling.
posted by Marko at 12/18/2005 01:17:00 PM
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