Peace summit in Istanbul

Middle East Peace Summit was held in Istanbul, Turkey on January 23 involving foreign ministers of six Middle Eastern countries Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iran. They discussed the Iraqi problem at the summit that lasted some 13 hours. The summit adopted a declaration urging Iraq to comply with all UN resolutions and fully cooperate with UN weapons inspectors. It is interesting that the declaration sends some ulterior messages to the US and Israel as the former is indirectly called to wait for the results of UN weapons inspections and settle the crisis in accordance with international norms. Besides, the paragraph on regional security makes an ulterior message to Israel saying that weapons of mass destruction must be destroyed in all countries but not only in Iraq.

Being the first step of this kind to prevent the possible war and discuss the issue and define necessary policies among the Middle Eastern countries, the summit is very important.