Amman - The Euro-Med Ministerial Conference on Water has been called off indefinitely due to differences over the participation of the Arab League, Jordanian Foreign Minister Salah Bashir said Sunday.

The conference had been slated for Tuesday in Jordan's Red Sea resort. Bashir was quoted by the official Petra news agency as saying the gathering was postponed "to allow room for reaching agreement on some issues, foremost the participation of the Arab League and its membership in the Union for the Mediterranean."

"Jordan rejects taking prior or individual attitudes that could influence the discussions due to take place in the coming meetings," he added.

Bashir did not elaborate but official sources said that he alluded to Israel, which was reportedly against the Arab League's participation in the two-day conference due to be held within the framework of the Euro-Med partnership, now called the Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean.

"Jordan is still keen on hosting the conference at a later occasion," he added. Sources close to the proceedings said Sunday that a dispute had also erupted over the project to connect the Red Sea and Dead Sea being studied by Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

The so-called Red-Dead canal is part of an international effort to save the Dead Sea, where water levels have reportedly been dropping at the rate of one metre per year. dpa