Saleh cuts short RI visit

Saleh cuts short RI visit

JAKARTA (JP): Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh cut short
his official visit in Indonesia to attend an emergency meeting on
the Iraqi crisis in Abu Dhabi, a Yemeni Embassy official said
yesterday.

Saleh and his 21-strong entourage flew to Abu Dhabi on a
special flight yesterday afternoon to attend the meeting of
several Middle East heads of state, the official, who spoke on
the condition of anonymity, told The Jakarta Post.

"President Saleh was telephoned by United Arab Emirates (UAE)
President last night asking him to come to Abu Dhabi soon."

UAE's President Sheikh Zaid bin Sultan al-Nahayan rejected
Friday the use of force against Iraq and said that a United
States military strike could damage East-West relations and
affect the Gulf.

President Saleh arrived here Thursday and held bilateral talks
with President Soeharto Friday.

Saleh and his entourage were scheduled to visit state-owned
ship builder PT PAL in Surabaya, East Java, yesterday morning,
before flying to Bali for a night's rest.

"We fully understand the reason for President Saleh to cut
short his visit," a State Palace official said yesterday. (prb)