By IANS,
Dubai : The Ministerial Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has called upon Iran to adhere to principles of international legitimacy and settle the nuclear issue through peaceful means.
At the 108th session of the GCC ministerial council that concluded in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, late Tuesday night, the council welcomed the ongoing negotiations between Iran and Western countries, and hoped that the negotiations would lead to a peaceful settlement, the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
The GCC comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
In the meeting, the Gulf countries also condemned Iran’s action of opening two offices in the UAE’s island of Abu Musa near the Strait of Hormuz.
The ministers called for making the Middle East free of all mass destruction weapons, and approved the rights of the countries of the region to acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes within the framework of the international agreements in this respect.
Regarding Iraq, the ministers reiterated the importance of preserving Iraq’s unity, sovereignty and independence and called for avoiding intervention in its domestic affairs.
The council called for a national reconciliation in Iraq.
As for Israel, the council deplored that country’s attempts to demolish the Al-Aqsa mosque and change its characteristics.
It called for ending the Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories and ending the siege on Gaza.
The ministers urged the international community to put pressure on Israel until it complies with the resolutions of the international legitimacy.
The ministers underscored the importance of negotiations for realizing a just and comprehensive peace, and voiced support to resumption of peace talks between Syria and Israel under the patronage of Turkey.
The ministers urged the Palestinians to work for realizing national unity.
The Gulf ministers also welcomed formation of the new government of national unity in Lebanon in line with the Doha agreement.
They welcomed the visit of Lebanese President Michel Suleiman to Syria and the outcome of the visit.
The council also welcomed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) for strategic dialogue signed by the GCC and Turkey.
The MoU aims at coordination and consultation in the various issues as well as enhancing cooperation in the economic, trade, investment, defensive, security, cultural and energy domains.
The ministers called the GCC financial and economic cooperation committee and the ministers concerned to hold an extraordinary meeting to discuss the issue of Gulf monetary union.
That meeting would be followed by a joint meeting for the GCC foreign ministers and the financial and economic cooperation committee, the SPA report said.
Following the conclusion of the session, the ministers issued a statement in which they expressed appreciation at the speech of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Bib Abdulaziz Al Saud at the international dialogue conference in Madrid last July.
The ministers lauded the positive outcome of that conference, and welcomed convening a special session for the UN to demonstrate support to the Madrid communiqué on the international dialogue conference.