The World - News from Dec. 20, 1988

The first summit of Persian Gulf Arab leaders since the August cease-fire in the Iran-Iraq War opened with an appeal by the Emir of Bahrain for the rebuilding of trust destroyed by the eight-year conflict. Sheik Isa ibn Salman al Khalifa said the Gulf Cooperation Council, meeting in Bahrain, hopes the August cease-fire will bring a new era of peace to the region. Officials said the meeting will focus on breaking the deadlock in the Iran-Iraq peace talks, which opened in Geneva five days after the truce. The council, formed in 1981 to link Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, essentially backed Iraq in the war.