Our Gulf correspondent, Frank Gardner, reports from Dubai:

Criticism by an Arab ruler of America's role in the Palestinian-Israeli peace process is nothing new, but Sheikh Zayed's outspoken words on what he sees as the failings of Washington's Middle East policy may come as a surprise to some.

Only last month, the UAE awarded one of the last major arms contracts of the century to a US company.

In a wide-ranging interview with the New York Times, the Gulf's oldest ruler said that although the USA is a friend to his country, the American position in the Middle East has failed to uphold justice. He said that whatever the Palestinians say and accept is discarded, while what the Israelis want is imposed.

A senior US diplomat in the Gulf told the BBC he found nothing unusual in such criticisms, but he strongly rebutted Sheikh Zayed's suggestion that one of the reasons US forces were in the Gulf was to put pressure on the Palestinians.

With the Arab world growing increasingly impatient with the current deadlock in the Arab-Israeli peace talks, Sheikh Zayed's call for an Arab summit on the problem is reaching a ready audience.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah has been meeting with Syria's President Assad to discuss such a summit.