March 26, 2010
WALKOUT!
SIRTE, Libya: Bahrain last night helped resolve a simmering dispute between Iraq and host Libya that threatened to derail tomorrow's Arab League summit.
Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, together with his Kuwaiti counterpart Shaikh Mohammed Al Salem Al Sabah and Arab League secretary-general Amr Moussa persuaded Baghdad not to boycott the summit over a dispute over Libya's support for Saddam Hussein loyalists.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari walked out of a meeting of foreign ministers earlier.
A top Arab diplomat said Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki had ordered Zebari to quit the summit in protest at a meeting last week between Libyan leader Muammar Gadaffi and Iraqi opposition figures.
Libya's official Jana news agency had reported that Gadaffi received a high-ranking delegation of Iraqi opposition leaders on Sunday, including former members of the outlawed Baath party.
Dangerous Israeli encroachments on Palestinian sacred sites, meanwhile, ranked high on the foreign ministers' meeting in the Mediterranean city of Sirte.
A proposal to set up an investigation committee into the atrocities committed by the Hebrew state in Gaza also came under the spotlight.
The Palestinians are seeking a strong Arab stance in the face of Israel's plans to expand Jewish housing in east Jerusalem.
They also want millions of dollars in funding for Palestinians living in that section of the city.
Arabs view Israeli building in east Jerusalem as disruptive to Mideast peacemaking.
The ministers agreed to recommend to their leaders fulfilling a request by the Palestinian Authority to raise funding for Palestinians living in east Jerusalem from $150m to $500m (BD55m-BD188m) annually, according to Moussa. * On behalf of His Majesty King Hamad, his Personal Representative Shaikh Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa will lead Bahrain's delegation to the three-day summit.
SIRTE, Libya: Bahrain last night helped resolve a simmering dispute between Iraq and host Libya that threatened to derail tomorrow's Arab League summit.
Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, together with his Kuwaiti counterpart Shaikh Mohammed Al Salem Al Sabah and Arab League secretary-general Amr Moussa persuaded Baghdad not to boycott the summit over a dispute over Libya's support for Saddam Hussein loyalists.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari walked out of a meeting of foreign ministers earlier.
A top Arab diplomat said Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki had ordered Zebari to quit the summit in protest at a meeting last week between Libyan leader Muammar Gadaffi and Iraqi opposition figures.
Libya's official Jana news agency had reported that Gadaffi received a high-ranking delegation of Iraqi opposition leaders on Sunday, including former members of the outlawed Baath party.
Dangerous Israeli encroachments on Palestinian sacred sites, meanwhile, ranked high on the foreign ministers' meeting in the Mediterranean city of Sirte.
A proposal to set up an investigation committee into the atrocities committed by the Hebrew state in Gaza also came under the spotlight.
The Palestinians are seeking a strong Arab stance in the face of Israel's plans to expand Jewish housing in east Jerusalem.
They also want millions of dollars in funding for Palestinians living in that section of the city.
Arabs view Israeli building in east Jerusalem as disruptive to Mideast peacemaking.
The ministers agreed to recommend to their leaders fulfilling a request by the Palestinian Authority to raise funding for Palestinians living in east Jerusalem from $150m to $500m (BD55m-BD188m) annually, according to Moussa. * On behalf of His Majesty King Hamad, his Personal Representative Shaikh Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa will lead Bahrain's delegation to the three-day summit.
