A communique issued at the end of a two-day summit of the Saudi-led Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) also urged action to halt mass killings and violations of international law in Syria. The oil-producing GCC states wield influence out of proportion to their sparse populations due in part to global energy and investment links, generous international aid and Saudi Arabia's role as home to Islam's two holiest sites.
"The council expressed its rejection and condemnation of the continuing Iranian interference in the affairs of the Gulf Co-operation Council's states and called on Iran to stop these policies," the communique said. On the conflict in Syria, the statement, read out by GCC Secretary-General Abdulatif al-Zayani, added: "We ask the international community for serious and swift moves to stop these massacres and these severe attacks". Kuwait said it would host an international humanitarian donor conference for Syria in late January, amid concern for millions of Syrians suffering war, homelessness and winter cold.