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Diplomacy will prevail in region

ABU DHABI – Diplomacy and peaceful approach to disputes will prevail in the region, General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of UAE Armed Forces, said yesterday during a meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

The UAE supports all regional and international efforts aimed at achieving security, peace and stability in the region, he reiterated.

Gen. Shaikh Mohammed and Rice reviewed ways to enhance bilateral relations and exchanged views on regional and international issues as well as efforts being made to arrive at a comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East and the developments in Iraq and Lebanon. Rice briefed Gen. Shaikh Mohammed on the outcome of Geneva talks, the progress on the Iranian nuclear dossier and the purpose of her tour of the region.

Meanwhile, foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and the United States met at Emirates Palace yesterday.

The meeting was attended by Condoleezza Rice, UAE Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister Faisal Ahmed Al Haji, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abu Al Ghait, Jordanian Foreign Minister Salah El Din Al Bashir, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Bahrain's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Nazar Al Baharna, Qatari Assistant Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdullah Al Ramahi, Under-Secretary of the Saudi Foreign Ministry Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Saud Sr, Oman Ambassador to the UAE Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Ali Al Qutbi and GCC Secretary-General Abdul Rahman Hamad Al Attiyah.

Earlier, Rice had warned Iran of punitive measures” if it did not respond seriously in two weeks to an international offer to freeze sensitive nuclear work. Rice sought to tighten the screws on Teheran after taking the unprecedented step of sending a top US diplomat to meet Iran’s chief negotiator Saeed Jalili in Geneva.

The US had until Saturday refused to sit with Iran on nuclear talks until it stopped enriching uranium, but changed course to show it was going the extra mile for a diplomatic solution. The meeting sent a “very strong message to the Iranians that they can’t go and stall... and that they have to make a decision,” she told reporters on her way to Abu Dhabi.