Saudi efforts for good Iran relations continue

“I met with Iran’s former Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in Tehran and the next meeting was supposed to take place in Riyadh. However, they placed some conditions that we did not agree with,” said Prince Saud. “Recently, the current Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi called me and requested a meeting on the condition that it takes place in Kuwait. I asked him why he would choose Kuwait in the context of a bilateral dialogue when we are supposed to meet in Saudi Arabia.”

Prince Saud also said the Kingdom and the UK were looking forward to a positive response by the parties involved in the current political struggle in Yemen. He referred to the GCC initiative to restore normalcy in Yemen and prevent it from falling into civil war.

Prince Saud also revealed that Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, recovering from an assassination attempt in Riyadh, is in “generally good health.”

Prince Saud thanked the British government for its initiative and the efforts by the Gulf Cooperation Council to solve the Yemen crisis.

Speaking about Bahrain’s problems, Prince Saud said any outside involvement in the internal affairs of the country and any attempt to disrupt the peace and security of any GCC country were not acceptable. He said both Riyadh and London want normalcy to prevail in Bahrain and that both welcomed King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa’s initiative to start national dialogue.

Prince Saud said the presence of Saudi forces in Bahrain was to preserve peace. He reinforced the Kingdom’s stance that Saudi soldiers there are not to interfere with the internal affairs of the country. He added that forces would withdraw from Bahrain once peace is restored.

Prince Saud expressed sadness that innocent women and children were falling victims to the current crises in the region. He called on all parties to deal with sensitive issues rationally to prevent more bloodshed.

He said he also discussed with Hague international efforts to restore Palestinian-Israeli peace talks and US President Barack Obama’s initiative to reactivate dialogue based on the Israeli withdrawal to the borders of 1967.

Prince Saud said the Kingdom welcomed the French initiative to restore peace talks on the same principles and he urged the international community to prevent Israel hindering these efforts. He appealed to the world community to recognize Palestine as an independent country.

The foreign minister denied speculative reports that Kingdom would give safe haven to the family of Osama Bin Laden. He said that Bin Laden family is a big family not limited to Osama and are living with dignity in their country.

Prince Saud also urged all Lebanese groups to wisely deal with the international tribunal’s decision over Rafik Hariri’s assassination. He reiterated the Kingdom’s stance that it had nothing to do with the complicated internal situation there. Following the tribunal’s decision, he hoped that peace would be preserved.