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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 June 1999 Issue No. 434 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 June 1999 Issue No. 434
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Living Travel Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters GCC fractures over Tehran ties
By Sherine BahaaThe Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) foreign ministers' meeting held in Riyadh closed abruptly on Saturday without reaching agreement on any of the controversial issues. The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Bahrain and Qatar emerged from the meeting grim-faced. This lack of unanimity comes at a time when the unity of the 18-year-old council is in question. In a brief statement to reporters, GCC Secretary-General Jamil Al-Hojailan said the ministers had been unable to formulate a final communiqué so "the ministerial council has decided to put off examination of the issues to a later date".
The timing of the next meeting would be decided by the UAE which currently holds the GCC presidency.
Diplomats attending the summit said that reported differences between Saudi Arabia, the key country in the Gulf gathering, and the United Arab Emirates dominated the meeting and prevented the foreign ministers from reaching a resolution that could be agreed to by all parties.
The UAE is unhappy with the state of diplomatic relations between Riyadh and its Gulf partners with Iran. The UAE is involved in a long-drawn dispute with Iran over the latter's occupation of three Gulf islands over which the UAE claims sovereignty. Abu Dhabi wants the dispute to be at the top of any agenda of talks between the Gulf countries and Tehran. Following a key visit by Crown Prince Abdullah to Iran last month, Saudi officials were quick to calm UAE fears about the developing ties between Riyadh and Tehran, saying that such contacts would help in solving the dispute over the three islands.
The GCC summit, held in Riyadh last month, witnessed a similar lack of accord as occurred in this week's foreign ministers' meeting. A statement issued by Hojailan at the end of the summit declared that no major decisions had been taken because the Riyadh meeting had been a "consultative one" and that no final statement had been expected. UAE president, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, boycotted the Riyadh summit for the first time since the GCC's formation, as a protest against Arab Gulf policy towards Iran.
GCC meeting in Riyadh (photo:AP)
UAE Foreign Minister Rashid Abdullah Al-Nuaimi, in his opening address at the GCC foreign ministers' meeting on Saturday, accused Iran of "continuing to consolidate its occupation of the three islands despite our repeated calls to find a peaceful solution."
A week earlier, Nuaimi broke with Gulf tradition of keeping differences behind closed doors by airing direct criticism of Saudi Arabia's rapprochement with Iran. He said that these growing ties damaged his country's claims over the three strategic islands. Abu Musa, and Greater and Lesser Tunb are situated near a key shipping lane in the Gulf and were seized by Iran in 1971.
UAE officials were reportedly annoyed by the fact that the issue of the three islands was not even mentioned by Crown Prince Abdullah during his recent talks with Iranian officials. Nuaimi's criticism provoked a war of words with Saudi officials who described the UAE remarks as "childish" and confirmed Riyadh's commitment to defending Arab causes.
Relations between Iran and key Gulf states have been growing warmer since the election of moderate Iranian President Mohamed Khatami two years ago. Khatami announced shortly after taking office that he would seek better relations with Iran's Gulf Arab neighbours. Khatami reciprocated Gulf overtures towards Iran by making a key visit to Saudi Arabia and Qatar two weeks ago. This was the first visit by an Iranian president to a Gulf country since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
"The UAE believes that some GCC countries, especially Saudi Arabia, have put a very big question mark over their priorities. Is it to get close to Iran or to each other? This is a major problem," said one Gulf analyst.
