At a press conference following the three-hour-and-a-half meeting, Qatari Foreign Minister Shekh Hamad bin Jassim bin Al-Thani, the GCC rotating chairman, said the group hoped a new transitional civilian government, formed by all factions and representing the Iraqi people, could be established in the following week, because the Iraqis oppose any foreign military

ruling.

"We are following what is happening in Iraq, and as Iraq is a Gulf state, we concern about the stability and security of the Iraqi people and hope the looting and disorder there will be under

control as quick as possible," he said.

On GCC's future role in Iraq, the Qatari foreign minister said "there has always been good brotherly relations between the Gulf states and Iraq. We welcome Iraq to be under the umbrella of the GCC."

Commenting on recent US and British threats to Syria, he said: "We reject any threat to the security of Syria which is an Arab country. Such threats should be stopped because Syria doesn't want to escalate the situation."

Tuesday's meeting, the first high-level gathering of the six-nation regional alliance since the US-led forces toppled the 24-year regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq last week, came as serious

questions are being raised about future US plan in the region. At the opening of the meeting, the GCC issued a statement, saying all the concerned parties of Iraq should intervene to stop looting and disorder that were taking place in Iraq.

"The lasting period had a very quick change and the very sensitive and important issue was the war in Iraq and the consequences resulting from the war and the suffering of the brotherly Iraqi people," the statement said.

"We hope the painful sufferings of the Iraqi people will come to an end as quickly as possible," it said. "We regard the reestablishing of security and stability in Iraq and working on providing humanitarian aid for the Iraqi people as a primary objective."

The GCC also stressed the importance of the UN role in rebuilding Iraq, and regarded the world body as the primary guarantee to international peace and security.

The GCC, which groups Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar, was set up in 1981 mainly as an economic and political alliance. Its defence cooperation gained prominence after Iraq troops invaded Kuwait in 1990.

(Xinhua News Agency April 16, 2003)