GCC committed to Arab League's initiative for Syria

The Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) concluded their 122nd ordinary session here Sunday night by adopting a final statement that highlighted commitment of their countries to the outcome of the Arab League's initiative for solving the Syrian crisis. The League's Council, which met on the foreign-minister level in Cairo on February 22, adopted the initiative outlining practical and effective procedures for halting the exacerbating crisis, the statement underlined. The GCC foreign ministers are disappointed at the failure of the UN Security Council to adopt a decision for backing up the initiative, and call on the international community to continue making all possible efforts to find a solution as early as possible to the exacerbating crisis, it said. They welcomed the results of the conference of the friends of Syria, hosted by Tunisia on February 24, notably the appeal for the international community to end the suffering of the Syrian people by any means, according to the document. Regarding the proposal of Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz for the GCC transformation from cooperation into union, the ministers asked the concerned panel to speed up working out final recommendations and table them to the consultative meeting of the GCC leaders, due in next May. As for the GCC economic integration process, they commended the suggestion of the State of Kuwait for setting up a supervisory mechanism for the budgets of the GCC-affiliated agencies. They also commended the UAE suggestion for launching a governance system for the financial and monetary institutions in the GCC region, the statement pointed out. Concerning the environment protection, the ministers approved the single system for handing the ozone depleting substances (ODS) in the light of the amendments of the Montreal Protocol adopted in 2007. They decided to table a recommendation for final endorsement of the system to the coming session of the GCC Supreme Council. Dealing with the relations with Iran, the GCC ministers voiced concern over Iran's persistence in interfering in the domestic affairs of their countries and infringement on the sovereignty of the independence of the GCC member states. They called on the Islamic Republic to halt such hostile practices and abide by the principles neighborliness, mutual respect and the relevant international conventions. As for Iran's nuclear program, the ministers said they were following with deep concern the developments in this regard, highlighted the need for Iran to show commitment to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) regulations and cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency They reiterated the GCC firm stance on commitment to the principles of international legitimacy for solving disputes through peaceful means, making the Middle East a nuclear-free region and backing the efforts aiming to force Israel into joining the NPT, the statement added.