Foreign Minister, GCC Secretary General hold joint press conference
May 15, 2012
Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal and Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Dr. Abdullatif Al-Zayani held a joint press conference in Riyadh yesterday following the conclusion of the 14th Consultative Meeting of GCC Leaders.Reviewing the activities of the meeting, Prince Saud reported, “The GCC leaders discussed the political developments in the region, including the recent provocative Iranian acts in the occupied UAE islands. They also reviewed the developments in Syria in light of the escalating killings, in addition to the current efforts of the joint envoy of the Arab League and the United Nations.” The Saudi Foreign Minister noted that the GCC leaders made decisions regarding the proposal of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz to move towards a GCC Union.
For his part, Secretary-General Al-Zayani said that the delegates agreed on a new joint security agreement. Furthermore, they decided to provide grants to support development projects in Jordan and Morocco, reviewed the progress of the GCC Initiative in Yemen and discussed the visit of the Crown Prince of Bahrain to the United States.
Responding to questions from reporters about the situation in Syria, Prince Saud stated, “The confidence in the efforts exerted by the envoy of the United Nations and the Arab League began to decline in light of the continued fighting, violence and bloodshed.” Regarding accusations by the Syrian media that the GCC countries are intervening in Syria’s internal affairs, he said, “As long as the Syrian media does not show the real situation in Syria, there is no doubt that it accuses other countries. Such accusations are unfair.”
Asked about Iranian interference in the internal affairs of GCC states, Prince Saud responded, “Iran’s threat is clear, I don’t think it hides the threat . . . Any threat in this context is unacceptable and rejected. Iran has nothing to do with procedures taken by GCC countries, even if such procedures lead to union. Iran is free to seek union with whom it wishes. We hope that it shows the good-neighborliness that we seek.”
