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ABU DHABI, Nov 27 (AFP) - The United Arab Emirates on Saturday called on Gulf leaders at a Riyadh summit to link any rapprochement with Iran to progress in a territorial dispute between Tehran and Abu Dhabi.
"We hope the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit will take a decision linking any concrete progress in relations between the Gulf states and Iran to a position change in Iran's attitude," said Abu Dhabi's crown prince.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan, in an interview run in Al-Ittihad newspaper, said a "firm stand" by the six-nation GCC could "reduce Iran's opposition to peaceful initiatives" to resolve the dispute over three islands.
He hoped a GCC panel would succeed in its mission to facilitate direct talks between Abu Dhabi and Tehran. "Otherwise we reserve the right to take the matter up with the International Court of Justice," over Iran's opposition, he said.
The UAE has criticized the panel - set up in July and made up of the foreign ministers of Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia -- for its inaction. The two other members of the GCC, Bahrain and Kuwait, are not participating on the panel.
The dispute over the three strategic islands in the southern Gulf which effectively control one of the world's major oil supply routes is on the agenda of the three-day GCC summit starting on Saturday in the Saudi capital.
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