Moussa: UAE initiative was not on summit agenda
Regional-Iraq, Politics, 3/3/2003

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa affirmed late Saturday that the UAE's initiative, on Iraqi President Saddam Hussein stepping down, was not on the agenda of the Arab summit that wound up work earlier this evening.

During a joint news conference with Bahraini Foreign Minister, Moussa affirmed that the summit's final communique stressed that Arab states would not take part in a war against Iraq.

This came in reply to a question on the Arabs' opposition to facilitate a possible US military mission.

On the Libyan-Saudi differences in the summit, the Secretary General of the pan-Arab organization said the discussions were frank and to-the-point, noting that all summiteers tried hard to head off the spectre of war.

Moussa said Arab leaders decided to send a delegation to the US to find a way out of the current Iraq crisis.

For his part, Foreign Minister of Bahrain Muhammad Bin Mubarak al-Khalifa said "discordance should in no way affect the summit resolutions."

Asked why the summit's communique was not directed at the US, Moussa said the communique hails the anti-war stances taken by peace-loving countries.

Moussa, however, said the summit did not fail but there was misunderstanding about a specific analysis of an issue but it was contained.

Asked about the summit's decision to set up a committee to contact the parties concerned in the Iraqi standoff, the Bahraini foreign minister said the committee would not be established just to tour countries but it would duly shoulder its responsibilities.

On the delegation expected to visit Baghdad and its mission, Moussa said consultations are under way to form this delegation, noting that it would mainly include Lebanon, Bahrain, Tunisia and the secretary general of the Arab League.

Moussa said the delegation would contact various countries to explain and enhance the Arab stance.

As for Iraq, Moussa said, it is a member state in the Arab League and is fully mindful of the current situation.

On the measures taken to stave off a looming US-led war, Moussa said the Arab states will not support this war, adding that they would not, however, declare war on the US.

Asked whether Kuwait and Saudi Arabia took part in drafting the UAE proposal, Moussa said the proposal was neither discussed nor distributed among the summiteers, ousting the Iraqi regime is not of the business of the Arab states.

On the clash between Libya and Saudi Arabia during the summit, Moussa said the two sides differed on the political analysis of a certain topic and not on the items related to Iraq crisis or the Palestinian cause.

Moussa said all summiteers, however, were on board vis-a-vis the importance of heading off the specter of war on Iraq.

For his part, the Bahraini foreign minister said this summit would go down in history as one of the most important Arab summits held to date, noting that the resolutions taken by this summit did not conflict with bilateral agreements hammered out by Bahrain and other countries.

On ignoring the Syrian and Lebanese reservation on the US military build-up in the Gulf, Moussa said '"no one is happy about that."

Moussa hoped that the summit communique would help gain more time to avert war.

On an expected Sharon-Mubarak meeting in Sharm El-Sheikh, Moussa said he does not know whether the meeting will be held this week or in the next one.

Asked how the US is committed to the Palestinian cause, Moussa said Arabs would not be fooled by any token statement or meetings.

Moussa asserted that the summit did not collapse, noting that the differences which surfaced had to do with some historical issues but not with the current hot issues.

The Bahraini foreign minister said the summit communique is "stronger than the French and German stance on the Iraq crisis."

Previous Stories:
  Arab ministers reject Powell's proposal on Saddam to quit   (3/1/2003)
  Arab FM s preparatory meeting in Sharm esh Sheikh   (2/28/2003)
  Iraqi opposition members send a message the Arab Summit   (2/27/2003)

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