Arabs try to heal rifts

Press, 20 November 1980, Page 8

Arabs try to heal rifts

NZPA-Reuter Amman Arab Foreign Ministers finished two rounds of talks yesterday on an agenda for a summit conference threatened by deep rifts in Arab ranks over the Iran-Iraq war.

The two-month-old war has so polarised the Arab world that Syria' has asked for the meeting to be postponed. Arab diplomatic sources said the seven-man Ministerial committee was likely to look for ways to keep the.

most divisive issues off the meeting’s agenda. Syria and Libya, both hard-line states, have favoured Iran in the war and Iraq has broken off relations with both after accusing them of . supplying Iran with arms. Syria and Libya denied that.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister (Prince Saud alFaisal) visited Damascus on Tuesday to urge the Syrians to attend the meeting. But Syria has not announced any change of heart and Dam-

ascus radio said only that Prince Saud and President Hafez Assad discussed the importance of making the gathering a success. Conservative Saudi Arabia, which has drawn closer to an increasingly pragmatic Iraq, argues that the kings and presidents should take the opportunity of the meeting to resolve their differences.

The kingdom is supported by Jordan, which as host is determined to have the meeting open on time on

November 25. Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Jordan were on the seven-man committee preparing for a session of all the Arab Foreign Ministers set for today. The other committee members were Algeria, Kuwait and the Palestine Liberation Organisation. The full session has the job of preparing the final agenda for the meeting, which was planned mainly as a meeting on economic strategy.