The “Emergency Regional Conference” was called by Saudi Arabia on instructions from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, Prince Saud said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

“The conference comes in response to the current circumstances and developments in Iraq, which affect the Iraqi people in particular, and the repercussions on the countries of the region in general,” he said.

Prince Saud, who made the announcement after a surprise visit to Damascus yesterday, did not name the countries which would take part in the meeting.

Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, Syria, Iran, all of which border Iraq, and Egypt held a regional conference on Jan. 23 in Istanbul in a bid to prevent the US-led war on Iraq. Kuwait, which provided a launchpad for US troops heading to Baghdad, also borders Iraq.

Following the fall of Baghdad, Saudi Arabia has been active diplomatically as a new situation emerges in the Gulf.

French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin held talks here on Sunday with Prince Saud and both agreed that the return of Iraq to Iraqi control must remain a priority.

De Villepin held similar talks in Cairo, Damascus and Beirut where he called for the return of UN arms inspectors to Iraq and the lifting of sanctions against Baghdad.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw is scheduled to hold talks in Riyadh today. Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir was also due to arrive here for talks on Iraq with King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah.

Riyadh will host today an extraordinary meeting of the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council states to discuss the aftermath of the war.

Prince Saud last week urged the United States to allow the Iraqi people to choose their own government and their own future and to end the occupation quickly.

During an impromptu visit to Damascus earlier yesterday, Prince Saud discussed Iraqi security and sovereignty with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, Syria’s official SANA news agency said. Their talks focused on “efforts by Iraq’s neighbors to restore security and stability and to preserve the (country’s) territorial integrity,” SANA said. Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq Al-Shara took part in the discussions, it added.

Prince Saud’s unexpected visit came after the United States stepped up criticism of Syria, accusing Damascus of possessing weapons of mass destruction and allowing senior Iraqi leaders to escape through its territory.

Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa dismissed the allegations of Syrian support for Saddam Hussein’s regime as groundless, the official Syrian daily Tishrin said yesterday.

“Mussa judged yesterday (Sunday) as groundless the accusations of certain American leaders against Syria,” the newspaper said.