Riyadh: Foreign ministers of the Gulf states will meet on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia to discuss measures against Syria, as Washington drums up support for its plan to strike Damascus, a diplomat said.
Countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council “support taking international measures to deter the Syrian regime”, the diplomat told AFP on Monday.
The ministers will meet in Saudi Arabia’s western port city of Jeddah.
The GCC, which comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, has openly voiced support for the rebellion against President Bashar Al Assad.
On Saturday, GCC chief Abdul Latif Al Zayani urged the international community to intervene immediately to “rescue” the Syrian people from their government’s “oppression”. The call comes as President Barack Obama awaits a vote by the US Congress on his request for support of a strike on Al Assad’s regime over its alleged use of chemical weapons.
Gulf nations back international measures to “deter the Syrian regime from committing its inhumane practices”, he said.
Saudi Arabia — the bloc’s heavyweight — has been pushing for a US-led strike on Syrian forces loyal to Al Assad.
