Six Gulf Arab foreign ministers will meet U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell this month to urge Washington to end Israel's repression of Palestinians, officials said yesterday. They said no specific date had been set for the talks, to be held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York later this month.

It will be attended by the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain.

"There is a growing concern among Gulf Arab leaders that the present U.S. administration is much less active in Middle East peacemaking than the previous one," a UAE official told Reuters, referring to the active engagement of former U.S. president Bill Clinton.

Many Gulf Arab leaders have criticised U.S. President George W Bush for a perceived pro-Israel bias during the current spate of violence in the Middle East.