Arab foreign ministers welcomed the recent UN resolution on Iraq in a joint statement released in Cairo Sunday at the end of their emergency meeting.
After reviewing UN Security Council Resolution 1441, the Arab League ministerial meeting stressed that the UN Security Council isthe reference body for assessing the reports of UN weapon inspectors.
The meeting takes into account the statements made in the Security Council, the statement said, declaring that the UN resolution is by no means a basis for using military force against Iraq.
The Arab ministers urged the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to stick to their assurances that "the resolution can not be a pretext for waging a war against Iraq" and "does not provide for automatic use of military force."