DOHA, December 22 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad Ben Jassem said Sunday that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has "little influence to prevent war against Iraq", as the final GCC communiqué condemned "threats" by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein against Kuwait.

Ignoring the U.S. military buildup in the region, Kuwait called on the six-nation bloc to adopt a common stance on a recent speech by Saddam, in which he apologized for the August 1990 invasion of the country but also uttered what the emirate considered to be threatening remarks, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Saddam's "message contained pure fabrications and incitement against the Kuwaiti government and support for terrorist acts in the country," said the text, ready by GCC Secretary General Abder Rahman Attiya.

"This message constitutes a threat against Kuwait and the members of the GCC and an interference in their affairs," it added.

Saddam issued a televised apology to the Kuwaiti people for the invasion but coupled it with a strong attack on the Kuwaiti leadership.

The Kuwaiti government and parliament rejected the message and labeled it a threat by its former occupier.

However, the communique failed to mention the burning issue of the day with 65,000 U.S. troops in the region and another 50,000 due to arrive next month.

The delegates of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates recalled the need "to respect the independence and territorial integrity" of Iraq and for "no interference in its internal affairs."

The GCC urged Iraq to cooperate with U.N. disarmament inspectors to ensure a rapid end to the crisis.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Attiya, Ben Jassem said all GCC countries were hopeful the Iraqi issue would be solved peacefully.

"The council hopes there will not be a strike against Iraq and we are working with all our strength, but we have little influence over this," Sheikh Hamad said.

"The capacity of the GCC states is limited and the US presence does not serve only to defend our countries but also to defend the interests of the United States and we understand that," he added.

He asserted that participation in any war against Iraq would be "painful", adding that Gulf countries are trying to avoid this as much as they can.

The top diplomat stressed that he "does not see any diplomatic path with the Iraqi government."

On the presence of American forces in Qatar and the possibility of using it as a launch pad for attacking Iraq, Sheikh Hamad said Iraq knows from where attacks have been launched for the past 10 years.

He asserted that some countries might offer facilities to the U.S. for some reasons, adding that Qatar was not asked to give facilities and that no decision has been taken.

According to the Qatari minister, Gulf countries need the American military, regardless that some see this as an American occupation of the countries or not.

Kuwait itself is base to 15,000 U.S. troops, currently carrying out live-fire exercises near the Iraqi border.

The emirate has repeatedly said it is opposed to any U.S.-led strike on Iraq without a U.N. mandate.

And summit host, Qatar, which hosts 4,000 U.S. soldiers at an air base that is also one of the largest U.S. arms dumps, is tipped as a likely launching pad for any U.S.-led war on Iraq.

U.S. military personnel are also deployed in Saudi Arabia, mostly at the Prince Sultan air base in Al-Kharj, south of Riyadh, and the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet is headquartered in Bahrain.

Commenting on the "roadmap" peace plan, the Qatari top diplomat described this plan and the meetings of the quartet as "a waste of time", asserting that at the end the U.S. will impose it own virgin of peace on the parties.

The GCC also announced the launch of their customs union as of January 1.

"The leaders blessed the birth of a customs union of its members from January 1, 2003," said Attiya.

The member states also adopted a unified tariff of five percent across the Arabian peninsula bloc.

The GCC plans to set up a common market by 2005 and a single currency by 2010.

The bloc has a combined oil output of around 13 million barrels a day and more than 50 percent of the world's proven crude reserves.

The communique reiterates the GCC stand in supporting Kuwait and calls for the release of POWs and the return of property stolen by Iraq during its 1990 invasion of Kuwait and subsequent seven-month occupation.

It also welcomed Iraq's acceptance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441 in addition to urging Baghdad and U.N. weapons experts to cooperate to ensure the success of inspections and spare the Iraqi people more suffering.

The statement "highlight the role of the United Nations and international legitimacy, and its rejection of changing any regimes single-handedly by one country based on that country's interests," it said.