- Title: Bahrain: Leaders Of The Gulf Arab States Arrive In Manama
- Date: 30th December 2000
- Summary: The leaders of six oil-rich Gulf Arab states arrived in Bahrain on December 30, 2000 for the start of the annual Gulf Cupertino Council (GCC) summit. Delegates said relations with powerful neighbours Iran and Iraq figured high on the agenda of the two-day annual summit. Iran has rejected a GCC mediation bid to resolve a dispute with the UAE over three strategic Gulf islands, insisting on direct talks. The islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tumbs are located near key shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormus. They are claimed by both states and held by Iran. The delegates said the GCC was also split on how to deal with Iraq after Saudi Arabia and Kuwait turned down a proposal by Qatar to soften the group's strong opposition to lifting the crippling United Nations sanctions against Iraq. They said that Qatar's proposal, presented at preparatory foreign ministers meeting, was backed by the UAE. Qatar and the UAE have repeatedly called for the lifting of the sanctions imposed on Iraq since its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
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- Location: BAHRAIN MANAMA AIRPORTS
- Reuters ID: LDL0012EBJ5ZF
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
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- Copyright Holder: Reuters Archive
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