The "emergency regional conference" was called by Saudi Arabia on instructions from King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah, Prince Saud said in a statement carried by the official SPA agency.

"The conference comes in response to the current circumstances and developments in Iraq, which affect the Iraqi people in particular, and the reperucussions on the countries of the region in general," he said.

Prince Saud, who made the announcement after a surprise visit to Damascus on Monday, did not name the countries which would take part in the meeting.

But Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said Monday he had also been invited to attend the meeting, although Egypt, a powerful regional player, is not a neighbour of Iraq.

Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, Syria, Iran, all of which border Iraq, and Egypt held a regional conference on January 23 in Istanbul in a bid to prevent the US war on Iraq.

Kuwait, which provided a launchpad for US troops heading to Baghdad and backed the war, also borders Iraq.

Following the fall of Baghdad, Saudi Arabia has been active diplomatically as a new situation emerges in the Gulf.

French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin held talks here Sunday with Prince Saud and both men agreed that the return of Iraq to Iraqi control must remain a priority.

De Villepin held similar talks in Cairo, Damascus and Beirut where he called for the return of UN arms inspectors to Iraq and the lifting of sanctions against Baghdad.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw was to hold talks in Riyadh on Tuesday.

Sudanese President Omar Omar al-Beshir, who arrived in Damascus Monday, is due here for talks on Iraq with King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler.

Riyadh will host Tuesday an extraordinary meeting of the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states to discuss the aftermath of the war.

Prince Saud last week urged the United States to allow the Iraqi people to choose their own government and their own future and to end the occupation quickly.

The SPA news agency said Monday that the weekly Saudi cabinet meeting expressed deep concern over the lack of law and order in Iraq and warned that security problems in Iraqi cities could lead to a humanitarian catastrophe.

"The cabinet reviewed reports about the situation in Iraq, and the lack of security and stability which led to anarchy, looting and a shortage of water, food and medicine," a statement carried by the SPA agency said.

"The crown prince expressed the deep concern of the kingdom's government and people over the insecurity in Iraqi cities which could lead to a humanitarian catastrophe and the loss of innocent life and property," the statement added.

The cabinet noted the looting of Iraqi historical sites and called for restoring "law and stability in Iraq as soon as possible, and for allowing the Iraqi people to choose the way for running their own affairs."

The cabinet also said Riyadh has prepared a complete programme of humanitarian aid to Iraq that will commence after coordination with international authorities.

SPACE.WIRE