In addition to the Middle East peace plan, the Arab summit in Beirut demanded Thursday the lifting of UN sanctions on Iraq imposed for its 1990 invasion of Kuwait and rejected any attack on Iraq." We stress our total rejection of any attack on Iraq," it said.
Gulf War foes Iraq and Saudi Arabia staged an unusual show of harmony when the Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah and the Iraqi Vice president Izzat Ibrahim hugged and kissed when proceedings resumed on Thursday to applause from the assembled Arab leaders.
Delegates said the summit also approved an agreement between Gulf War foes Iraq and Kuwait that could pave the way for a rapprochement for the first time since the 1990-91 Gulf crisis.
The agreement and the first high-level public embrace between Abdullah and Ibrahim at the summit come amid widespread speculation about a possible U.S. attack on Iraq. The heads of the Iraqi and Kuwaiti delegations also shook hands.
Iraq and Kuwait earlier reached a landmark agreement, with mediation from Oman and Qatar, to seek an end to the disputes bedeviling their relations since Baghdad's 1990 invasion.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri told AFP Thursday that the agreement was made in a compromise text reached with Kuwait.
The Beirut Declaration "welcomed Iraq's confirmation to respect the independence, sovereignty and security of the state of Kuwait and guarantee its safety and unity to avoid anything that might cause a repetition of what happened in 1990". (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
