March 2, 2003	Sunday	Zul Hijjah 28, 1423

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, March 1: Here are the main points from the resolution adopted by a summit of Arab leaders at this Red Sea resort, rejecting any strike on Iraq or their participation in one.

- Arab states “stress their firm refusal of a strike on Iraq, of any threat against the security and the territorial integrity of any Arab county, and stress the need to settle the Iraqi crisis peacefully.”

- “call on all countries to back Arab efforts aimed at avoiding war through the full implementation by Iraq of UN Security Resolution 1441.”

- “request that sufficient time be given to the (UN weapons) inspection teams in Iraq to complete their mission and call them to complete their mission objectively.”

- “underscore the responsibility of the UN Security Council in preserving Iraq’s independence and territorial integrity.”

- “shall refrain from participating in any military action targeting the security or the territorial integrity of Iraq or any other country.”

- “state their solidarity with the Iraqi people and consider that the time has come to lift the embargo imposed on it.”

- “task Bahrain, current chair of the summit, to set up an ad-hoc committee gathering the outgoing chair (Lebanon), the next chair (Tunisia), Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa and all countries wishing to join.”

The committee’s “mission will be to undertake contacts with international parties and to explain the Arab position, notably to the permanent members of the UN Security Council, and to consult with the brotherly Iraqi government, in the framework of the resolutions of the Arab summit and to discuss ways to confront the serious challenges facing Iraq and Arab states.”

- “state that the Arab nation’s affairs and the development of its regimes is a question that can be decided by the peoples of the region only, far from any foreign interference. They denounce in this respect attempts to impose changes on the region and interference in its internal affairs.”—AFP