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Middle East: Saudis show interest in regional peace with Israel
Riyadh, 1 August (AKI) - Saudi Arabia has indicated in may attend a Middle East peace conference including Israel - a move which would represent a breakthrough in relations between Riyadh and the Jewish state. back US Middle East plans. The Washington-sponsored conference is aimed at revive the stalled peace process and would include Israel, the Palestinians and Arab states viewed as moderate by the US. "We welcome this initiative," Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said on Wednesday.Saudi Arabia has no diplomatic relations with Israel, saying previously it would only establish them at the culmination of an Arab-Israeli peace settlement. Prince Saud was speaking during a joint visit to Riyadh by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defence Secretary Robert Gates. "When we get an invitation from the minister [Rice] to attend, when this takes place, we will study it - and we will be keen to attend," he said, speaking in Arabic. Saudi Arabia has recently re-launched a peace plan it first put forward in 2002, which calls on Israel to return Arab land occupied since 1967 in return for full diplomatic recognition. The Saudi foreign minister also announced that Saudi Arabia - the cradle of Sunni Islam - would soon explore the possibility of diplomatic ties with the Shia-led government in Iraq, a move long sought by the US. Prince Saud said he was "astounded" by recent remarks by US ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad, in which he accused Saudi Arabia of undermining efforts to stabilise war-ravaged Iraq. "By the beard of the Prophet, these are lies, all lies!" Saudi Arabia has not had an embassy in Baghdad since the first Gulf War in 1990, despite pressure from the US after its forces led the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Hmmm ... let us read the fine print in that latest US-Saoodi arms agreement [mega-heh] Posted by: mrp 2007-08-01 |
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