[caption id="attachment_90678" align="alignright" width="210"]
Arab leaders stand for a group photo before the 25th Arab League summit in Kuwait City on March 25, 2014.[/caption]Arab leaders struggling with an array of foreign policy disputes have opened an annual summit in Kuwait in a bid to forge a common stand on regional crises.
The ongoing conflict in Syria and the political turmoil in Egypt are high on the agenda of the two-day summit, which opened in Kuwait City on Tuesday and is attended by 13 heads of state and other high-profile figures.
In his opening remarks to the plenary session, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah called on Arab states to end rifts.
"We should address these differences, unite and work together to overcome the existing disputes," he asserted.
The Kuwaiti monarch further noted that the Syrian crisis is threatening the international security.
"We are before a painful reality, and humanitarian, moral and legal crisis and condemnation will not be enough," he said.
The Emir of Kuwait also said the Syrian conflict has already spilled over borders and become a threat to the security of the world.
"We reiterate our call on the UN Security Council to live up to its responsibility to restore international peace and security, and to end this (Syrian) crisis," he said.
The 25th Arab League summit comes amid deepening rifts among members of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council over Qatari support for Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood and the role of al-Jazeera television station in this regard.
On March 5, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain withdrew their ambassadors from Doha.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisalsaid only the severance of ties with the Brotherhood, closure of al-Jazeera broadcaster and expulsion of two US think tanks identified as Brookings Doha Center and the Rand Qatar Policy Institute -- would be sufficient to prevent Qatar from being punished.
On March 7, Saudi Arabia listed Muslim Brotherhood along with several other groups as terrorist organizations. According to the new law, those who join or back the groups could face five to 30 years in jail.
Following the example of neighboring Saudi Arabia, the UAE labeled Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization the following day.
The moves, which were slammed by the Brotherhood, came after Egypts military-backed interim government decided to label the group a terrorist organization last December after the ouster of the country's Brotherhood-backed president, Mohamed Morsi, in July.
By Press TV
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