Iraq's neighbors "underline the obligation of the occupying powers under the Fourth Geneva Convention to ... withdraw from Iraq and allow the Iraqis to exercise their right to self-determination," they said in a joint declaration in English read by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal.

The declaration, issued after a meeting in Riyadh that started Friday and went on into the early hours of Saturday, said the Iraqi people should administer their country themselves and voiced hope of seeing a representative Iraqi government in place.

The meeting was attended by the chief diplomats of host Saudi Arabia, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Turkey and Syria, all neighbors of Iraq, in addition to Egypt and current Arab League chair Bahrain.

The ministers "affirm that the Iraqi people should administer and govern their country by themselves, and any exploitation of their natural resources should be in conformity with the will of the legitimate Iraqi government," the statement said in a reference to Iraq's oil wealth.

Stressing their commitment to Iraq's territorial integrity, the ministers said they also looked forward to the "early establishment of a fully representative Iraqi government according to a constitution to be agreed upon."

The ministers took issue with US allegations against Syria, which has recently been accused by Washington of harboring officials of the deposed Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein as well as banned weapons smuggled from Iraq, and of producing chemical arms.

They backed Syria's initiative at the UN Security Council to turn the Middle East into a zone free of weapons of mass destruction and welcomed reports that US Secretary of State Colin Powell planned to visit Damascus.

SPACE.WIRE