Qatar pushes for Gulf’s inclusion in Iran talks
10 Dec 2013 4:59 AM IST
Gulf Arab states must have a seat at nuclear talks between world powers and neighbouring Iran because of their own stake in regional stability, Qatar’s foreign minister said on Saturday.
Gulf Arab capitals cautiously welcomed an interim nuclear accord between Tehran and six powers agreed on November 24, but some officials said Western allies had not briefed them adequately on a deal central to regional as well as global security.
The agreement between Iran and the United States, Russia, France, Britain, Germany and China - known as the P5+1 group - offers Tehran some relief from damaging economic sanctions in return for more oversight of its nuclear programme.
Speaking to Reuters in an interview, Qatari Foreign Minister Khaled al-Attiyah said the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a grouping of six energy-exporting states, deserved a place at the table as essential partners in regional stability.
‘We are in the region. We are concerned,’ he said on the sidelines of the Manama Dialogue, a regional security conference organised by the International Institute of Strategic Studies think tank.
Gulf Arab capitals cautiously welcomed an interim nuclear accord between Tehran and six powers agreed on November 24, but some officials said Western allies had not briefed them adequately on a deal central to regional as well as global security.
The agreement between Iran and the United States, Russia, France, Britain, Germany and China - known as the P5+1 group - offers Tehran some relief from damaging economic sanctions in return for more oversight of its nuclear programme.
Speaking to Reuters in an interview, Qatari Foreign Minister Khaled al-Attiyah said the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a grouping of six energy-exporting states, deserved a place at the table as essential partners in regional stability.
‘We are in the region. We are concerned,’ he said on the sidelines of the Manama Dialogue, a regional security conference organised by the International Institute of Strategic Studies think tank.
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