Jun. 17, 2009 (WAM) -- A major UAE English daily today commented on the latest development on the issue of a logjam of trucks at the UAE-Saudi Arabia border crossing and similar confusion on the King Fahd Causeway between the kingdom and Bahrain, as the GCC countries have reached a tentative deal to resolve the crisis. Commenting editorially on the issue today, the Dubai-based "Gulf News" said: "After two weeks of delays on the UAE-Saudi border crossing, and similar confusion on the King Fahd Causeway between the kingdom and Bahrain, GCC countries have reached a tentative deal to resolve the crisis.

"The whole two-week mess could have been prevented in the first place if Saudi Arabia had clearly communicated its intentions to change the operating rules at its frontier posts. "Those who paid the price for this decision to go it alone were the countless thousands of truck drivers, working for as little as Dh200 for a three-day round trip between Dubai and Doha. "They were left sweltering in the blistering desert sun for days on end as Saudi officials made the few who were allowed to cross the border jump through bureaucratic hoops. "At the Riyadh meeting, which followed growing media scrutiny of the plight of the stranded truck drivers, Saudi authorities agreed to end the crisis by returning to the pre-June 1 situation. "The lesson for all is that the GCC stands for Gulf Cooperation Council, and as such, all members of the GCC should be cooperative and consult with other members. Otherwise, chaos ensues."