UAE | General
Iran avoids nuclear talk
President Ahmadinejad did not do what the Gulf leaders expected of him - to assure Gulf states of the "peaceful" nature of Tehran's N-programme.
- By Mohammed Almezel, Deputy Managing Editor, and Barbara Bibbo', Correspondent
- Published: 23:28 December 3, 2007
- Image Credit: WAM
- Shaikh Khalifa leads the UAE delegation at the opening session of the GCC Summit in Doha on Monday. With him are Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Interior Minister; Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister; and Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Presidential Affairs.
Doha: Iran's president on Monday did not do what the Gulf leaders expected of him when they invited Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to their annual summit - to assure Gulf states of the "peaceful" nature of Tehran's nuclear programme.
In a 15-minute speech at the opening session, Ahmadinejad spoke at length of his country's wishes to bolster ties with its Arab neighbours on almost all sectors but curiously ignored Iran's tense standoff with the United States and its Western allies over Tehran's controversial nuclear programme.
The two-day summit, which concludes today, was opened by Qatari Emir Shaikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani who passionately called on the US and Iran, without naming them, to refrain from "mutual threats" that could plunge the region into chaos and sabotage the GCC states' development plans.
President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leading the UAE delegation, also warned of "the negative consequences of the latest developments."
In a statement upon arrival here, Shaikh Khalifa said the conference is being held "amid extremely critical circumstances ... which require us to double our efforts and coordinate our stands to arrive at a joint vision."
These tensions, the Qatari Emir said, "threaten our homelands, the region and the world."
He called upon the US, its allies and Iran to "reconsider" their positions before it is too late. Otherwise, he warned, subsequent crises might spin "out of control."
But Ahmadinejad, the first Iranian leader to be invited to the summit, did not respond to the speech and furnished instead a 12-point proposal to strengthen what he called "our closeness and common historic, social and cultural background."
The proposal includes creation of an integrated economic bloc and a collective security body.
UAE Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who earlier met his Iranian counterpart, said the GCC leaders would respond to Iran's proposals.
Meanwhile, Shaikh Abdullah said the summit will not decide on the dollar peg. The fall of the American currency led to speculation that the Gulf states might decide to de-peg their currencies.
The summit nevertheless is expected to announce the birth of a major Gulf organisation, the GCC Common Market, which will take effect next month.
The meeting will also finalise plans to issue a single currency.
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