KUWAIT: Condoleezza Rice meets Arab foreign ministers in Kuwait, discusses Iraq, Lebanon and Iran.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice continued her Middle East tour in Kuwait on Tuesday (January 16) where she met with Arab foreign ministers and discussed Iraq, Iran and Lebanon. U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice has continued her Middle East visit, travelling to Kuwait on Tuesday (January 16), after The United States won Saudi backing for a U.S. plan to stabilise Iraq and Kuwait, signalling Arab states' support for President George W. Bush's plan hoping it would help stabilise Iraq. Rice, who is on a regional tour to drum up support for Bush's decision to send more than 20,000 new troops to stabilise Iraq said that the new U.S. strategy was 'necessary' and 'urgent'. "We believe that a new strategy was necessary and we believe that yes, it is urgent. That's why the president felt that he couldn't wait, the Maliki government couldn't wait until its own forces were completely ready at the end of the Summer. Time is of the essence and that is why the president is acting," Rice told reporters following a meeting with Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad al-Salem al-Sabah. Many Arab countries, including heavyweight Saudi Arabia, fear the plan announced by Bush to stabilise Iraq would lead to an early departure of U.S. troops from Iraq, leaving the violence-ravaged country moving towards civil war that might spill beyond Iraq's borders. Before addressing the media in Kuwait, Rice met with the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan and the six Gulf Arab states -- Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. Other issues discussed included Iran's nuclear programme, which many Arab states, particularly those in the Gulf, are watching with growing alarm. "I think what we have in front of us is a Security Council Resolution 1737, issued under Chapter 7, calling on Iran to comply fully with the IAEA and the international community in regard to its nuclear programme. We know that there is going to be a review session for that resolution in a few weeks. We have expressed our hope that Iran would comply with the resolution and comply with the requirements of the IAEA," al-Sabah said at the news conference. But Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal rejected suggestions that Saudi Arabia would use oil as a political tool to pressure Iran over its policies in the region. Washington and Riyadh accuse Shi'ite power Iran of backing militia violence in Iraq. U.S. forces are holding five Iranians after raiding an Iranian government office in northern Iraq last week, the second such operation in Iraq in the past few weeks. A Saudi official said on Monday (January 15) Iran had asked Saudi Arabia to help ease tensions between the Islamic Republic and the United States, but an Iranian foreign ministry official was quoted on Tuesday as denying a request for mediation. Rice and Prince Saudi also played down such talk. Rice also mentioned the investigations into the Hariri assassination during the news conference. "Well, there is a process that is set forth now for following up on the resolution that created the tribunal, the investigation and the tribunal for the (Rafik) Hariri assassination. We are urging that this be done expeditiously. There has been in Lebanon support for that tribunal from the government, indeed from a majority of the parliamentarians and we hope that it will move forward through the Lebanese process so that the tribunal can be brought into being. It is very important, it is important to the Lebanese people and it is important to the international community, that those who are responsible for the assassination of Rafik Hariri be brought to justice. We as a group, have expressed our concern about the Hariri assassination and other assassinations in Lebanon. The best way to deter in the future assassinations of high ranking officials is to make sure that those who are engaged in this are brought to justice," she said.

ITN Source | January 17, 2007

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