Saudi-Qatar talks seek common stand

Doha: Saudi Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud wrapped up a three-day visit to Qatar on Wednesday ending six years of frosty relations between the two neighbours.

Leaders of Qatar and Saudi Arabia tried to patch up differences and find a common stand over a number of regional issues ahead of a key Arab summit in Damascus this month, the Qatari Prime Minister said.

Shaikh Hamad Bin Jasem Bin Jabr Al Thani, Qatari Premier and Foreign Minister, said the situation of Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq and the Iranian nuclear issue were at the centre of the talks between Qatari Emir, Shaikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani and the Saudi royal.

Speaking to Saudi editors on Tuesday night following a dinner banquet in honour of the Saudi royal, the Prime Minister stressed the need for a unified stand of the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on a number of issues at the upcoming summit. "Shaikh Hamad [the Prime minister] voiced his conviction that there should be a unified and clear-cut policy or a minimum rate of consensus or accord between all the member states of GCC [at the summit], since there are numerous challenges which need a vivid viewpoint," the Qatar News Agency said.

Agenda

The agency reported parts of Shaikh Hamad's quotes to the press on the content of the meetings.

"Talks touched on regional issues, including Palestine and Iraq. There was a clear view by the two countries on the situation faced by the region and how we should deal with it."

On the Iranian issue he was quoted as saying: "Saudi Arabia and Qatar want to solve the issue through diplomatic means."

Questions by Saudi editors focused insistently on the Lebanese crises.

"There is a unified Arab stand. We want Lebanon to be independent with no trusteeship imposed upon it. We want a government in Lebanon and support the recent Arab initiative ... What is required now is first, to make the Damascus summit a success, second to resolve the Lebanese issue and third to bring Syria closer to us," the agency reported Shaikh Hamad as saying.

Syria will host the 20th Arab summit on March 29 and March 30 amid tensions with some Arab countries over its involvement in Lebanon.

The country has been without a president since November amid disputes between the Western-backed government and Hezbollah-led opposition supported by Damascus and Tehran.

Gulf countries were reportedly conditioning their participation in summit to the presence of Lebanese representatives. But on Monday the Saudi Crown Prince in Doha ended speculation over a Saudi boycott confirming the kingdom's participation, although he did not confirm at which level. Qatar also confirmed it will participate.