GCC welcome Iran initiative, asks Israel to get out

The Gulf Cooperation Council states have called upon Israel to resume negotiations with Syria and to pull out of the Golan Heights and south Lebanon by implementation of U.N. resolutions 242, 338 and 425.

In a press statement issued following the GCC 's 66th session in Kuwait on Sunday, the council's foreign ministers commended the international consensus on resuming peace negotiations on all tracks according to the land for peace principle. The statements called on Middle East peace process cosponsors to exert further efforts and urged the European Union member states to intensify their role in the peace process.

The GCC ministers also called on the international community to work to make the ME a nuclear-free zone and to compel Israel to joining the nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty and open its installations for international inspection.

The ministers welcomed improving ties with Iran and noted positive policy trends from new Iranian President Muhammad Khatami, a matter shown during the recent visit of former Iranian president Akbar Hashami Rafsanjani to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.