The day after he made a call to the Saudi King, the US leader spoke separately with His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces; His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain; His Highness Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah, Amir of Kuwait; and His Highness Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Amir of Qatar.
“The months ahead will be used to finalise the technical details for a lasting, comprehensive solution that verifiably ensures the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme,” Obama told the Gulf leaders.
Shaikh Mohammed expressed the hope that a final abiding agreement would contribute towards enhancement of security and stability in the region and wider world.
Shaikh Mohammed and President Obama also discussed other regional developments, including the present crisis in Yemen, and how to strengthen the pillars of peace and stability in the region. The US president invited the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council to join him at Camp David this spring for further consultations.
In his talks, the president “reiterated the United States’ enduring commitment to work with partners to address Iran’s destabilising activities in the region”, according to a White House statement.
King Hamad of Bahrain, who accepted Obama’s invitation to the Camp David summit, hoped a final nuclear deal between world powers and Iran, which was clinched on Thursday night after marathon talks in Switzerland, would strengthen regional and world security.
King Hamad thanked the US president for his efforts to secure the agreement, which marked a major breakthrough in a 12-year standoff between Iran and the West.
Expressing its appreciation for Obama’s peace efforts, the Bahrain Foreign Ministry said the kingdom hoped that “the frame-work will lead to a final agree-ment that guarantees peace and security in the region”.
Bahrain hoped that the “coming period will witness a quali-tative change in Iran’s policy regarding non-interference in the internal affairs of countries in the region, especially the GCC countries, and commit-ment to cooperating positively and constructively in order to achieve security and stability in the world”.On Friday,
Saudi Arabia cau-tiously welcomed the deal, hop-ing a final nuclear deal between world powers and Iran would strengthen regional and world security. At home, Obama and his men called leaders of the Republi-can-controlled Congress and stressed that “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. And if there is backsliding, there will be no deal”.
White House spokesperson Josh Earnest told CNN that “in the last 24 hours, everybody from the president to the White House chief of staff, to officials at the Department of State and the Department of Defence” had reached out to members of Congress to explain the deal.
Obama himself spoke with Republican House Speaker John Boehner.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is set to vote on April 14 on a bill put forward by Republican Senator Bob Corker requiring a 60-day congressional review of any nuclear deal. In his weekly ad-dress, Obama said diplomacy was the best option to deal with Iran’s nuclear programme.
“As President and Commander in Chief, I firmly believe that the diplomatic option — a compre-hensive, long-term deal like this — is by far the best option,” Obama said.
No comments :
Post a Comment