Regional conference in Istanbul

ISTANBUL, Jan 23: Six leading Muslim nations urged Iraq on Thursday to show “more active” cooperation with UN arms inspectors, and embark on policies to inspire confidence in its neighbours, at the end of a day-long meeting here.

“We call solemnly on the Iraqi leadership to move irreversibly and sincerely towards assuming its responsibilities in restoring peace and stability in the region,” they said in their declaration, read aloud to reporters by Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis.

The statement, adopted by the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Turkey, urged Iraq to continue cooperating with the arms inspectors from the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“We request Iraq ... to demonstrate a more active approach in providing Iraq’s inventory of information and material concerning her capabilities of weapons of mass destruction,” it said.

Earlier, on his arrival in Istanbul, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al Faisal said: “I hope a joint position will be outlined in order to prevent war in Iraq ... We will also discuss what could be done to ensure Iraq complies with UN resolutions.”—AFP

Our Correspondent adds from Riyadh: Saudi Arabia has again reiterated that there is no pressing need for a war on Iraq.

Prince Saud has been quoted in the press here as saying: “We do not see any pressing need for military action or to set a particular date (for war). The focus should be on finding a peaceful solution which would spare us a great deal. We are still hopeful that the current diplomatic efforts will lead to a peaceful solution.”

Prince Saud was addressing a news conference on the eve of a regional meeting in Turkey to look for ways to avert a war.

Prince Saud said Arab states should be given a chance to try to resolve the crisis peacefully, even if the United Nations authorized military action. “Should the United Nations reach a decision to use force, we hope that there would be a grace period left for the Arab countries to intervene and resolve the crisis peacefully,” he said.

Prince Saud denied reports that the meeting in Turkey would discuss exile plans for President Saddam Hussein. He said the talks would be dedicated to “finding a way to handle the crisis without resorting to war”.

Prince Saudi said Saudi Arabia had not made arrangements to deal with any possible influx of refugees from Iraq. “We hope nothing would happen to our Iraqi neighbours. All the neighbours (of Iraq) are taking actions and precautions.”