DOHA
The Gulf States and France on Tuesday urged the international community to support Yemen's "legitimate" government, contribute to the stability and development of Egypt, and work to stop nuclear proliferation in the Middle East.
The announcement was made at a press conference following a summit Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders in Saudi capital Riyadh, which French President Francois Hollande attended as a guest speaker.
Speakers at the event called on the international community to "contribute to the stability and development of Egypt through cooperation and support" and to back the efforts of "Yemen's legitimate government" to restore peace to the crisis-hit country.
Regarding Iran, "France and Saudi Arabia stressed the need to reach a robust, lasting, verifiable, undisputed and binding deal with Iran," the leaders of Saudi Arabia and France said in a joint statement.
The agreement, they added, "must not destabilize the security and stability of the region, nor threaten the security and stability of Iran's neighbors."
"GCC leaders confirmed the council's keenness to build balanced relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran [with a view to] strengthening regional security and stability," Saudi Arabia's official press agency said in a statement.
GCC states also expressed their desire "to see normal relations with Iran be re-established based on mutual respect for the principles of good neighborliness and respect for the sovereignty of states and to take serious steps to rebuild trust and adherence to the principles of international law and the United Nations."
On Monday, Yemen's embattled president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, who is currently in Riyadh, set May 17 for a "national dialogue" conference between Yemen's political groups.
Fractious Yemen has remained in turmoil since last September, when the Shiite Houthi militant group overran capital Sanaa, from which it has since sought to extend its influence southwards to other parts of the country.
On March 25, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies began an extensive air campaign – which remains underway – that has targeted Houthi positions across Yemen.
Riyadh says the campaign comes in response to Hadi's appeals for military intervention against the Houthis.
Tuesday's Gulf summit is also expected to tackle the crisis in Yemen, along with Iran's ongoing talks with world powers over its nuclear program.
Leaders are also expected to discuss the Syrian civil war and means of confronting the Daesh militant group, which last year overran vast territories in Syria and Iraq.
Developments in Palestine are also expected to be on the agenda of Tuesday's summit.
The summit comes ahead of a scheduled May 14 meeting between Gulf leaders and U.S. President Barack Obama at Camp David, in the U.S.
Last month, Iran and the P5+1 group of nations (the U.S., China, France, Russia, the U.K. and Germany) unveiled a preliminary framework for talks aimed at curbing Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
Parties to the talks have set themselves a June 30 deadline for reaching a deal.
Iran's nuclear program has caused particular concern in the Arab Gulf, where Sunni-majority states fear the prospect of Shiite Iran obtaining nuclear weapons.
