KEEPING IT INTERNATIONAL

Saudi Arabia and its fellow partners in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) have pinned their hopes on the United Nations to prevent a further escalation of the Gulf war. The emergency GCC Foreign Ministers' meeting, which met in Taif after the Iranian attacks on neutral shipping in the Gulf, decided, as Secretary General Abdullah Bishara put it, 'to pursue the path of amicable settlement and dialogue as the effective and viable means for finding positive and common background'. Bishara also reiterated the Gulf countries' deep conviction on self reliance in defence, and emphasised that the policy of 'open bridges and constructive dialogue' can never be at the expense of national interests.