Mecca, Asharq Al-Awsat- Dr. Mohamed al-Mazroui, the Secretary-General of the UAE Federal National Council has confirmed that Iran has failed to respond to any amicable solutions put forward by his country to resolve the row between the two countries over the control of the Abu Musab, and the Greater and Lesser Tunub islands. Al-Mazroui described these solutions as being “consistent with international law” and that they propose beginning genuine talks between the two sides with a view to securing a deadline to find a solution to this issue or taking this to the International Court of Justice or for international arbitration. Al-Mazroui confirmed that “the UAE’s position on this matter is clear, and it is up to Iran now to take action on this matter and deal with the issue in a positive manner without any misunderstandings.”
Al-Mazroui said that the meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council [GCC] Ministers of Interior which is currently taking place in Mecca has not addressed the issue of the three islands and the dispute with Iran, although he added that this case was discussed when the heads of the GCC states met in Kuwait, and that it is expected that this issue will be raised again at their forthcoming meeting in Abu Dhabi in November.
The UAE official said that parliaments in the Arab region are working hard to discuss joint actions in order to find necessary solutions to take to the GCC, however he said that coordination with international parliaments remains weak with regards the issue of transferring European parliamentary experience to Arab states, although he did cite an example of the German parliaments inviting four Gulf states to look at their parliamentary controls.
Dr. Abdullah Bin Mohamed al-Sheikh, the head of the Saudi Shura Council, yesterday opened a meeting of the GCC Minister’s of Interior in the al-Safa Palace in Mecca, which also included the Saudi Shura and Legislative Councils. Al-Sheikh said that the legislative bodies of these states, despite a similarity in their operations, differ with regards to their parliamentary controls and how decisions are implemented.
For his part, Kuwait National Assembly Chairman Allam al-Kandari said that the information on the ground confirms that the growth of horizontal communication between the secretariats of the Gulf parliaments has achieved the expected result of deepening relations between the secretariats and exchanging knowledge and expertise in all fields.