Gulf nations postpone annual talks with EU

The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council has postponed an annual high-level meeting with the European Union, it was announced today, in what one diplomatic source said was a row over human rights.
The ministerial-level talks, scheduled for June 23 in Luxembourg, were "postponed at the GCC's request," according to an EU spokesman.
"The EU is obviously disappointed at the postponement and hopes that the meeting can be rescheduled soon, as EU-GCC relations are of great importance," said Michael Mann, spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
A diplomatic source who asked not to be identified said the GCC had cited a joint statement on Bahrain adopted earlier this month in Geneva by the UN Human Rights Council as the reason behind the postponement.

The June 10 statement supported by 47 states, including all 28 EU members, said Bahrain was not doing enough to investigate claims of human rights violations in the country.
The GCC consists of Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).