Bahrain insisted ahead of Saturday's opening of the 21st Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit that Iraq must respect UN resolutions imposed after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
"Iraq's respect for the UN Security Council resolutions is a constant demand of the GCC and the whole world," Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad bin Mubarak al-Khalifa told journalists late Friday.
Bahrain's Information Minister Mohammad Ibrahim al-Mutawa also urged Iraq to "implement Security Council resolutions" when asked to comment on the call by an official Iraqi newspaper for an Arab reconciliation.
The mouthpiece of Iraq's ruling Baath party, Ath-Thawra, on Thursday urged dialogue with neighbours Saudi Arabia and Kuwait aimed at a reconciliation after a decade of enmity.
The Muslim and Christian holidays "could be an opportunity for ... a constructive dialogue to forget the pains of the past and reach a reconciliation ending division and humiliation," the daily said.
The Gulf Arab monarchies -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- hold their end-of-year summit in Manama on Saturday and Sunday.
Baghdad's ties with the region have vastly improved this year, but Iraq remains at odds with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, the emirate that Iraqi forces occupied between August 1990 and February 1991 -- MANAMA (AFP)
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