Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 7, 1991 TAG: 9103070178
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: DAMASCUS, SYRIA LENGTH: Medium
The pact also seeks establishment of a new Arab order following the Gulf War and the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction from the Middle East.
The agreement followed two days of talks by the foreign ministers of Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. It is to be ratified later by their governments.
In a communique, the ministers stressed the need for increased Arab cooperation across all fronts, and for a just and comprehensive solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Palestinian problem.
The ministers said the postwar period provided "the best conditions to confront the other challenges and threats in the region," especially those stemming from "Israeli occupation of Arab territories and the settling of Jews there." They appealed for an international peace conference for the region under United Nations sponsorship.
Although they indirectly referred to cooperation with Iran, a Tehran newspaper that reflects official thinking said that because the planned security pact excluded Iran "it could not be taken seriously."
The English-language Tehran Times, said the agreement was "doomed to fail." Iran has been actively pursuing a role in any future regional arrangement for policing the region.
Significantly, the communique made no mention of the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole representative of the Palestinians. The PLO angered Arab states in the allied coalition by siding with Iraq in the war.
Syria and other Arab countries had said that steps to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict should follow the liberation of Kuwait.
After the agreement was initialled, the Arab ministers met with the foreign ministers of the Netherlands, Italy and Luxembourg.
by CNB