The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement following the consultative meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Republic of Iraq. The ministry said that the meeting falls within the Kingdom's keenness to enhance joint Arab action and interests and came under invitation from Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, Minister of Foreign Affairs. The statement said that a number of topics were discussed during the meeting as part of the efforts to build a unified position towards a number of issues of mutual concern. The ministry also said that the ministerial meeting re-emphasized the centrality of the Palestinian cause and denounced the illegitimate Israeli measures that undermine the two-state solution. Following is the statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia issued following the consultative meeting of the GCC, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq in Jeddah: Within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's keenness on serving and enhancing the Arab states' interests and, under invitation from Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and as per the coordination and endeavour to unify efforts towards a number of issues of mutual concern, an unofficial consultations were held at a Suhoor banquet hosted by the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, and was attended by his counterparts from the GCC countries, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq. During the meeting, the ministers exchanged views on a number of regional issues and developments and underscored the centrality of the Palestinian cause and condemned the illegitimate Israeli measures that undermine the two-state solution and the possibilities of just and comprehensive peace on the basis of the two-state solution that can lead to the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state with East Al-Quds as its capital on the June 04, 1967, lines, according to the Arab Peace Initiative and the relevant international resolutions. The ministers also condemned the Israeli aggressions on Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif compound and underlined the need to respect and maintain the historical and legal status quo, under which only Muslim worship is allowed at the compound and that the Jordanian Al-Quds Awqaf and Aqsa Affairs Department is the only entity that has the exclusive jurisdiction to run the compound's affairs as within the Hashemite Custodianship over Al-Quds' Islamic and Christian sites. They have exchanged viewpoints on the efforts being exerted to reach a political solution for the Syrian crisis in a way that puts an end to all its repercussions and preserves Syria's territorial unity, security, stability and Arab identity and brings it back to its Arab fold. The ministers underscored the importance of solving the humanitarian crisis and creating the appropriate environment for the access of assistance to all regions of Syria and paving the way for finding the necessary circumstances for the safe return of Syrian refugees and the displaced to their homeland and ending their sufferings and take more measures to ensure stability across the entire Syrian territories. The ministers also affirmed the importance of combating all forms of terrorism and terrorist organizations and the need to combat illicit drug smuggling and trading. They also underlined the importance of the state institutions in preserving the sovereignty of Syria on its territories to end the presence of armed militias on it and the foreign interventions in Syria's internal affairs. The ministers underlined a political solution is the only way to end the Syrian crisis, emphasizing the importance of a vital and leading Arab role in this direction which requires putting in place mechanisms to intensify consultations among Arab countries in a way that guarantees the success of those efforts. The ministers expressed their thanks to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its initiative in organizing the consultative meeting to discuss joint efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis.
