|
SAUDI
ARABIA PRAISES US FOR "NEW LANGUAGE" ON MIDEAST
RIYADH, Nov 11 (IslamOnline
& News Agencies) - Saudi Arabia's foreign minister praised Sunday the speech
of U.S. President George W. Bush to the United Nations General Assembly, saying
it heralds a "new language" for Washington in the Middle East.
Bush's speech involved "mentioning the Palestinian state by equating it
with Israel and holding all parties responsible toward stopping violence,"
said Prince Saud al-Faisal, Al-Hayat newspaper reported.
"This represents a new language which affirms that the responsibility is on
Israel as much as it is on the Palestinians (to stop violence). Violence does
not come from Palestinians, it comes from Israel which is a fact. This is a new
language," the prince said.
"The speech also called
on the need to continue political dialogue without guarantees that there would
be no incidents here or there ... These are three important elements, I believe
they are good and important.”
Bush, who addressed the U.N. at the start of its annual seven-day General
Assembly on Saturday, said he was committed to "a just peace" in the
Middle East, including a Palestinian state.
"We are working toward the day when two states - Israel and Palestine -
live peacefully together within secure and recognized borders as called for by
the (UN) Security Council resolutions," Bush said.
Prince Saud was speaking after meeting with Bush in Washington the same day.
The foreign minister also
said he did not feel the U.S. administration backed down from setting principles
for a peace deal.
"I feel assured (after meeting Bush) in this framework (that) they are
concerned about this issue, and are awaiting for the nearest possible
opportunity to announce the principles on which the US will depend," Prince
Saud said.
Prince Saud said in an interview with the New York Times published Friday, ahead
of the meeting with Bush, that Riyadh was "angrily frustrated" with
Washington's position.
"The thing that is so
sad is that what is needed to make peace is very little," he said. The
Saudi foreign minister noted that Bush met with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon but not Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.
Bush "cannot be an
honest broker and only meet with one side," said the prince. He added that
Bush's decision to decline meeting Arafat on the sidelines of the General
Assembly session "makes a sane man go mad."
U.S. Secretary of State Colin
Powell on Friday downplayed Saudi anger over Bush's refusal to meet Arafat.
Prince Saud also played down
press reports of a strain in Saudi-U.S. ties. "When we look at the
(American) media, they seem to be living on a different planet," he said.
"The relations between
the two countries are strong and historical,” said Prince Saud. ‘Horizons
are open to deal seriously with issues that concern the two peoples and
countries. We continue to deal with them on this basis."
Saud said Saterday that his
talks with U.S. President George W. Bush at the White House, which focused on
the situation in Afghanistan and the Middle East peace process, “were positive
and fruitful,” said the Saudi Arab News paper.
He reaffirmed Saudi
Arabia’s commitment to combat terrorism and bring the criminals to justice.
“President Bush has said he
wanted to see a quick end to the suffering of the Afghan people,” said the
prince. “This is the goal which the Kingdom too seeks to realize in
cooperation with friendly countries,” the prince said.
|
