At a regional summit over the weekend in Kuwait, Iraq and its Middle East neighbors called on US-led occupation forces to leave Iraq as soon as possible. The group of eight nations also called for the United Nations to assume what they called “central responsibilities” in Iraq’s transition to self-rule.

Countries participating in the summit were: Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Egypt and Bahrain.

Also at the summit Iraq’s Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said that the Iraqi Governing Council plans to ask the U.S. to hand over Saddam Hussein and remove his status as a prisoner of war.