Iraq's neighbours said this morning US-led forces that invaded the country had no right to exploit its oil and should pull out as soon as possible, giving the UN a central postwar role.
A meeting of Iraq's immediate neighbours as well as Egypt and Bahrain said US forces had to reestablish stability and security after their invasion, but should leave as soon as possible and allow Iraqis to form their own government.
"(The ministers) affirmed that the Iraqi people should administer and govern their country by themselves, and any exploitation of their natural resources should be in conformity with the will of the legitimate Iraqi government and its people," they said in a joint statement read by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal.
"If what they (the occupying forces) intend is the exploitation of Iraqi oil, it will not have any legitimate basis," Prince Faisal told a news conference after the talks in the Saudi capital.
He also said UN sanctions on Iraq should end only when it has a legitimate government.
"Now Iraq is under an occupying power and any request for lifting sanctions must come when there is a legitimate government which represents the people," he told reporters after the discussions on the regional implications of the US military occupation.
The talks included the foreign ministers of Turkey, Iran, Kuwait, Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Bahrain.
The US wants a quick end to the UN sanctions, imposed after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990. The US wants to boost Iraqi oil output and revenues which would be used to help pay for reconstruction.
Iraq has the world's second largest proven oil reserves and Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are concerned their revenues might be hit if its oil is once again sold on the open market, rather under the control of the UN sanctions regime. The regional states called for a central UN role in postwar Iraq, but the US is reluctant to give it a say in Iraq's political future.
Middle Eastern nations are determined to avoid a break-up of Iraq along potentially destabilising ethnic and sectarian lines.