Observer role for US at Arab summit urged

THE US should be invited as an observer at the Arab summit in Qatar next year, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch said yesterday.

“I don’t see why the US can’t be invited as an observer to the summit. Every one accuses us of interfering in the affairs of the region anyway. Might as well make it simpler by having us at a regional summit,” said Welch.

He was in Qatar as a follow-up to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s recent visits to the Middle East.

He said his meetings with officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs focused on “bilateral relations and regional issues such as Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran and the just concluded Arab summit.”

“The talks with the Qatari government last night were aimed at increasing the understanding between the two countries. I always respect their view and advice. We have plans for the GCC region, which you will see take place in a few weeks,” Welch said.

“This is an important time in the region. We face challenges together. Progress has been made on some of the issues, while we hope that much more progress can still be made,” said Welch, who has served in key US embassies in the region.

“The Arab summit failed because of the absence of key players. Unfortunately, it continues to fail due to the problems within the Arabs,” he said.

Asked about the perception that the US had pressured countries and leaders in the region not to attend the summit because Syria was hosting it, he said: “It is not that the US was trying to isolate Syria. The country (Syria) itself has a number of ongoing and unresolved issues with its neighbours. It was never the intention of the US to tell people not to go.”

“We in the US are more interested in the outcomes of such summits, and not who attends them. We are only interested in seeing progress and the substance,” he added.

Regarding Yemen’s initiative to resolve the dispute between Fatah and Hamas, he said: “Dialogues for the sake of dialogues are not really fruitful. Any agreements between the Palestinian parties have to be with the agreement of the Quartet. We have to understand that the ‘two states’ is the only solution to this problem.”

On Iran, Welch said: “I don’t think there will ever be a flare-up from my side. However, the Iranian side is known to behave recklessly. We’d like to resolve the nuclear issues diplomatically. Unfortunately, Iran doesn’t want to go on that path.”

On the possibility of Hamas in Palestine, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt sweeping to power in true democratic elections, he said: “Yes in all earnestness that is a possibility. But then it will be our right to decide whether to deal with them or not. We (the US) will have to accept the results however.”

“But it’s simplistic to talk about elections as part of a representative system. We believe there should be more civic participation. The role of NGOs and media is more important if such elections were to take place. Popular participation is really essential,” he added.

When asked why US President George W Bush is so unpopular around the world, Welch said: “He’s a man of strong beliefs and that sometimes make people uncomfortable. To him the image of the US is very important, and so is the national security.”