GCC, FNC denounce Ahmadinejad visit

GCC Secretary General Dr. Abdul Latif Al Zayani has strongly condemned the visit made by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the UAE's island of Abu Mousa, occupied by Iran.

Al Zayani slammed the visit as ''provocative'' and a ''flagrant violation'' of UAE sovereignty.

The visit, he stressed, would not change the historic and legal facts and UAE sovereignty over its three occupied islands : Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu Mousa.

''The visit demonstrates an irresponsible provocation and a step that doesn't cope with the good neighborliness policy adopted by GCC member states towards Iran nor with the GCC persistent peaceful efforts for solving the issues either through direct negotiations or taking the case to the International Court of Justice,'' he affirmed.

Earlier in the day, the Federal National Council (FNC) also strongly denounced the visit of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad to the occupied UAE Island of Abu Mousa, one of the three UAE Islands occupied by Iran.

The FNC said today in a statement that the "visit is a flagrant violation to the UAE sovereignty over its territories, and a setback to all efforts made by the UAE to put and to the occupation of the UAE three Islands of the Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu Mousa through direct negotiations or resorting to the International Court of Justice (ICJ)."

It underscored that the visit is contrary to what has been agreed between the two countries to avoid the escalation over the issue to create conducive atmosphere for reaching settlement that consolidates security, stability and good neighbourliness.

The FNC slammed the provocative rhetoric of the Iranian President during his infamous visit to the UAE territory, calling on Iran to cease such provocative steps and adopt peaceful approaches that could build confidence and help reach just settlement to the issue of the occupied three UAE Islands since 1971.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned today UAE Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Iran Saif Mohammed Obaid Al Zaabi for consultations.

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