WRAPUP 1-Gulf leaders to meet, hoping Syria will sign deal | Energy & Oil | Reuters

WRAPUP 1-Gulf leaders to meet, hoping Syria will sign deal | Energy & Oil | Reuters

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* First Gulf Arab summit since Arab uprisings

* May take Syria to UN Security Council if deal not signed

* Leaders set to discuss delicate ties with Iran

RIYADH, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Gulf Arab leaders holding a summit on Monday in Saudi Arabia are hoping that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will finally sign an Arab League peace deal aimed at ending his crackdown on protests and averting a civil war.

The crisis in Syria and a dispute with Iran will likely be high on the agenda of their meeting in the Saudi capital Riyadh, their first summit since Arab uprisings transformed the Middle East this year.

After six weeks of Syrian stalling, Qatar said it had information Assad would sign the plan, which calls for withdrawing the army from towns that have turned against him, freeing thousands of political prisoners, starting dialogue with the opposition and letting monitors into the country.

"We have information that indicates that he will sign the initiative. If this is true or not true we'll see," Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani said in Riyadh, in remarks carried by al-Arabiya Television.

"If they don't sign we will take the matter to the Security Council to adopt all the resolutions which have been taken by the Arab League," Sheikh Hamad told reporters.

Omani Foreign Minister Youssef bin Alawi bin Abdullah said: "We are optimistic that Syria will join the Arab League in signing the protocol, which is ready now, within 24 hours."

"That is what we hope for. If not, the Arab League foreign ministers will meet on Wednesday to consider measures that might be taken in the future," he said in Riyadh on Sunday afternoon.

The Arab League has suspended Syria's membership and announced sanctions over Assad's refusal so far to sign up to its peace plan.

Arab ministers are set to meet later this week and could decide to submit their plan to the U.N. Security Council, making it a potential basis for wider international action.
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