Arab leaders fail to reach agreement on Iraq-Kuwait conflict

The Arab summit has failed to reach an agreement on how to resolve the conflict between Iraq and Kuwait.

Esmat Abdel-Meguid interrupted a broadcast of the summit session to say leaders were unable to reach consensus on the state of affairs between Iraq and Kuwait.

Ministers and heads of state had been meeting for six days in an effort to hammer out an agreement.

Six heads of state met with Izzat Ibrahim, head of Iraq's delegation to the summit, in an attempt to make further headway on the agreement.

Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheik Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah said Iraq had turned down the proposal.

"Kuwait and all others have accepted this proposal which is in the interest of Iraq and the Iraqi people," he said.

Ibrahim made no reference to the proposal in a brief statement following the announcement, only asking that President Saddam Hussein's letter to the summit, which Ibrahim read, be archived in the permanent records.

The seven-point proposal worked out by Egyptian, Algerian and Yemeni leaders said the summit would emphasize the respect of both Iraq and Kuwait's sovereignty and territorial integrity while calling on Iraq to comply with its obligations under UN resolutions, Arab diplomats said.