In a speech at the opening of the ministerial meeting, Sheikh Hamad, who holds the rotating presidency of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), called for "a quick end to the military operations (in Iraq) and a halt to the bloodshed to prevent further losses among innocent civilians".

GCC states support "the preservation of the independence, the sovereignty and the unity of Iraq", he said, while underscoring GCC backing for Kuwait "and the measures undertaken by the emirate to guarantee its territorial security".

Kuwait's First Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah said the war was "the result of the stubbornness of the Iraqi regime and its refusal to implement UN resolutions including 1441" on its disarmament.

"The Iraqi regime has persisted with its aggressive attitude toward Kuwait since the start of the war by launching 19 missiles at the emirate," which has been the launchpad for the US-British invasion of Kuwait, said Sheikh Sabah.

Apart from Kuwait and Qatar, the GCC also groups Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Their meeting is to focus on the prospects for post-war Iraq.

SPACE.WIRE