Arab diplomats rally behind Saudi

1/11/2016 2:32:50 AM

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) A view of the Arab foreign ministers’ meeting at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo Egypt yesterday.

Cairo: Top Arab diplomats rallied behind Saudi Arabia yesterday in a dispute with Iran that has threatened to derail efforts to resolve Middle East conflicts including the war in Syria.

After meeting in Cairo for emergency talks requested by Riyadh Arab League foreign ministers issued a joint statement denouncing the “hostile acts and provocations of Iran” in the dispute.

All members of the Arab League voted in favour of the statement with the exception of Lebanon where Iranian-backed Hezbollah is a powerful political force.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir said relations between Riyadh and Tehran could only be repaired if Iran stopped interferring in its affairs.

“Iran can live in the region as a neighbour if it stops these approaches but if Iran continues the violent approach it will face opposition from the Arab world...this is the message we’ve got from the meeting” Jubeir said.

The UAE’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan who chaired the meeting said Iran had to “determine what kind of neighbour it wants to be” further accusing it of supporting “extremist groups.”

“Iran doesn’t have qualms and doesn’t hesitate to use the sectarian card as a way to dominate the region and interfere in the internal affairs of Arab countries” Nahyan said. Al Jubeir rejected Tehran’s claims it was using the dispute to back away from international efforts to finally end Syria’s nearly five-year civil war.

Saudi Arabia and Iran had joined international talks launched in Vienna last year that backed an 18-month plan to end the conflict and foresees further talks on January 25. “We have previously stated our support for the Syrian opposition and for efforts to find a peaceful solution in Syria” Jubeir said.

“This is still the case we believe in this and we fully support the peace process despite our differences with Iran” he said. The diplomatic row erupted following Saudi Arabia’s execution on January 2 of a prominent Shia cleric Nimr Al Nimr along with 46 others on terrorism charges.

AFP & Agencies

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