Morocco supports holding of Arab summit

Morocco expressed adherence to Arab initiatives meant to convene an Arab extraordinary summit, it was officially announced on Thursday.

Morocco expressed support for this initiative that is "likely to unify and consolidate Arab ranks," a statement of the Foreign Ministry said.

On Wednesday, Yemen renewed its call for an Arab summit to examine "the US-British aggression against Iraq".

Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Saleh, had discussed the idea in phone talks he held with the Saudi crown prince and the president of the United Arab Emirates.

Arab diplomatic sources said Arab League Secretary General Esmat Abdul Meguid will convene next Friday a "consultative" meeting of Arab foreign ministers to examine the Yemeni request.

According to Kuwait news agency, KUNA, three other Arab states have so far welcomed Yemen's call -- Egypt, Libya and Algeria -- but Morocco is the first country to officially accept the call.

In Baghdad, the Iraqi government asked Arab governments to take the same stances adopted by popular masses almost everywhere in the Arab world.

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein said, at a meeting of the high body of his country (Council of the Revolution Command), that the "Arab official position should reflect the slogans chanted by Arab masses", according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).