Arab newspaper reports say the foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen have held a secret meeting to discuss their positions on Iraq, following last month's American and British air raids.

The reports, denied by the Egyptian government, say they met in Hurghada, on the Red Sea coast of Egypt to discuss a proposed summit conference.

The BBC correspondent in Cairo says that so far the proposal has only exposed sharp differences in Arab policies towards Iraq.

Arab officials say the summit will not take place without the backing of key states, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia.