LONDON (AFP) — Arab states in the Persian Gulf have come up with a compromise aimed at defusing the crisis between the West and Iran over its nuclear program, a specialized Middle East publication said on Thursday.

The six-member Persian Gulf Cooperation Council has proposed to Iran that it create a multinational consortium to provide enriched uranium to the Islamic republic as a way of resolving the standoff, Middle East Economic Digest (MEED) reported on its website.
It said Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told MEED in London that the plan would mean Tehran could continue developing nuclear energy while allaying concerns over its nuclear program.
""We have proposed a solution, which is to create a consortium for all users of enriched uranium in the Middle East,"" he said.
""(We will) do it in a collective manner through a consortium that will distribute according to needs, give each plant its own necessary amount, and ensure no use of this enriched uranium for atomic weapons,"" MEED quoted Faisal as saying.
Under the reported PGCC plan, its members -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) -- would establish a uranium enrichment plant in a neutral country outside the Middle East.
The plant would produce nuclear fuel that would then be provided to Middle East nations seeking to harness atomic energy.
Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Libya and Yemen as well as the six PGCC states have all said that they want to pursue peaceful nuclear projects.
Faisal told MEED he believed the new plant ""should be in a neutral country -- Switzerland, for instance.""
""Any plant in the Middle East that needs enriched uranium would get its quota. I don't think other Arab states would refuse. In fact, since the decision of the PGCC to enter into this industry, the other Arab countries have expressed a desire to be part of the proposal.""
He added that Iran was considering the PGCC offer.
""We hope the Iranians will accept this proposal. We continue to talk to them and urge them not only to look at the issue from the perspective of the needs of Iran for energy, but also in the interests of the security of the region,"" he said.
""The U.S. is not involved, but I don't think it (would be) hostile to this, and it would resolve a main area of tension between the West and Iran.""
Meanwhile, Iranian officials said they were satisfied with the results of their latest talks with the UN atomic agency.
The talks were part of a deal the International Atomic Energy Agency clinched in August for Iran to answer questions over its atomic program so the IAEA can conclude a four-year investigation into its nature.
-----------------Russia raps Saudi atomic fuel proposal
Meanwhile, Russia's nuclear chief on Friday said only full nuclear powers should create centers for enriching uranium, in a swipe at the Saudi proposal.
When asked about the report, Russia's nuclear energy agency chief Sergei Kiriyenko said Russia had received no official information about the proposal, RIA news agency reported.
""In our opinion there should be many such centers but it is obvious that such centers must be in countries which have the full technology for enrichment (of uranium) so that this technology doesn't spread around the world,"" Kiriyenko said.
The Kremlin says that Iran should not be pushed into a corner and opposes tougher sanctions.
Russia has said there is no evidence that Tehran is trying to develop a nuclear bomb.