Arab FMs stress backing to Syria, Lebanon and Palestine to restore occupied lands

The Arab foreign ministers at the conclusion of their meetings stressed backing to Syria, Lebanon and Palestine to restore their occupied lands.

The Arab foreign ministers on Monday stressed their strong backing for Syria's just right to restore the whole of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights according to basics of the Middle East peace process and the international resolutions.

The Arab FM s called for Israel's full commitment to results previously concluded and to the resumption of peace talks from the point at which they broke off.

In their final statement released on Monday in Cairo following the end of the 112th session, the Arab FMs condemned Israel's policy which they said aims at perpetuating its aggressions against the Golan and considered these attempts as a defiance of the will of the international community and UN resolutions, especially UN resolution 497 of 1981 which considers the Israeli measures concerning the Golan to be null and void.

The Arab foreign ministers asserted their support for the struggle mounted by the people of the Golan and called for implementing the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 in support of the Syrian citizens of the Golan.

On Israel's occupation of south Lebanon and the western Bekaa, the Arab FMs condemned the continued Israeli occupation of south Lebanon and the western Bekaa. They called on the international community to work for implementing UN resolution 425, which provides for Israel's unconditional withdrawal from south Lebanon.

On the occupied Palestinian territories the ministers voiced backing for the struggle of the Palestinians to attain their legitimate rights and establish their own independent state on their national soil with Jerusalem as its capital.

On the Israeli nuclear weapons and the threat they pose to Arab national security, the Arab foreign ministers stressed the need for contacts in order to pressure Israel to join the NPT and subject its institutions to the inspections of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The Arab ministers expressed concern over the continued military cooperation between Turkey and Israel and called on Turkey to reconsider this cooperation, due to its adverse consequences on Arab national security.

On the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the Arab foreign ministers expressed their concern over Turkey's continued building of dams on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers without consulting Syria and Iraq, the two countries which join Turkey in using the waters of the two rivers according to international law.

The AL council called on the Arab states to reconsider their relations with companies that have links with implementing Turkish projects on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

On the increased US aid to Israel, the Arab FM s expressed their great concern over the annual US military aid to Israel. They added that such things threaten security and stability in the Middle East.

On the sanctions imposed on Iraq and Sudan, the ministers called for ending the sufferings of the peoples of Iraq and Sudan and asserted their full backing for the unity and territorial integrity of both Sudan and Iraq.