News / Middle East

Gulf Arab Leaders Urge Iran on Nuclear Talks

UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, 2nd right, walks with Saudi Arabia's Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, 3rd left, and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal, 4th left, during the 31st Gulf Cooperation Council, GCC, summit in Abu Dhabi, U
UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, 2nd right, walks with Saudi Arabia's Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, 3rd left, and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal, 4th left, during the 31st Gulf Cooperation Council, GCC, summit in Abu Dhabi, U
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Leaders from six Gulf Arab nations urged Iran to "respond positively" to talks with world powers about its disputed nuclear program.

The Arab leaders made the call in a statement  released Tuesday as they finished a two-day summit in the United Arab Emirates.  The meeting coincided with Iran's talks in Geneva.

The Arab leaders also called for a commitment to peacefully resolve conflicts in the region and to make the Middle East free of weapons of "mass destruction and nuclear weapons."

Separately, the leaders called for a "drying up" of funding for terrorist groups.  They said steps should be taken that would prevent the media from publishing information that could encourage "criminal acts."  

TheWikiLeaks  website this week released classified U.S. diplomatic cables that detailed Arab leaders' concern over Iran's position in the region, as well as its focus on a domestic nuclear program.  

WikiLeaks  released a December 2009 memo from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that said donors in Saudi Arabia had constituted the "most significant source of funding" to Sunni terrorist groups around the world.

According to the website, the memo also said more needed to be done since Saudi Arabia remained a "critical financial support base" for al-Qaida, the Taliban and other militant groups.

WikiLeaks  said Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates were also sources of terrorist funding.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

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