|
Discusses President Chirac
Visit, Hamas and Regional Developments
March 6, 2006, Riyadh
Foreign
Minister HRH Prince Sa'ud al-Faisal has said that French President
Jacques Chirac's visit to the kingdom was successful and stressed
that it will have a great impact on relations between the two
countries.
His Highness indicated in a news conference held yesterday in
Riyadh with representatives of the French media who accompanied
His Excellency the French president on his visit to the kingdom
that the talks President Jacques Chirac held with the Custodian of
the Two Holy Mosques King Abdallah Bin-Abd-al-Aziz Al Sa'ud
touched upon bilateral issues and international developments with
particular regard to the Palestinian issue, the situation in
Lebanon and Iraq as well as the Iran question. His Highness
pointed out that the two leaders had very close if not totally
identical views on most of the issues they discussed.
His Highness stressed that the kingdom and France emphasized
regional and international peace and stability, and resorting to
diplomacy in all conflicts. His Highness indicated that the two
countries have decided to cooperate in an effort to find the best
ways to have a positive impact on the issues facing the region.
His Highness announced the restructuring of the government
quarters responsible for the follow-up of strategic ties between
the two countries to focus on implementation and on continuous
early contacts between officials within this framework. His
Highness said he believes that this will have a positive effect on
ties between the two countries.
His Highness the foreign minister started his meeting with the
press by welcoming all of them. He said: We are pleased to see so
many of you who accompanied the president here to witness the
welcome he was given and the true feelings displayed in welcoming
His Excellency. I believe that this reflects in a big way the
admiration the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have for His
Excellency and the friendship they have for France and the French
people by all standards. The visit was very successful.
Undoubtedly, it will have a great impact on relations between our
two countries, as much as the success his previous visit had in
entrenching strategic partnership between the two countries and
boosting Saudi economy, particularly in the activities of the
private sector between the two countries. I believe that this
visit will promote these ties even further.
We have restructured the government quarters responsible for the
follow-up of strategic ties between the two countries to focus on
implementation and continuous early contacts between the officials
in this framework. This will have, I believe, a positive impact on
ties between the two countries.
His Excellency the president and the Custodian of the Two Holy
Mosques had the opportunity to talk at this high level. I do not
know how many hours they spent talking to each other. They spent a
long time with each other, which means that they touched upon all
the issues of the region, in addition to bilateral issues. In all
the issues they dealt with, they held very close if not totally
identical views, particularly with regard to the Palestinian
issue, the situation in Lebanon and the situation in Iraq. The
Iran issue was also discussed and there was unanimity in the views
expressed, as His Excellency said when he addressed the Shura
Council.
Issues have been broached in detail, and there was a focus on
peace, international and regional stability, as well as resorting
to diplomacy to resolve conflicts. The two countries decided to
cooperate in an effort to find ways to have a positive impact on
the issues facing the region here. Generally speaking, these are
the issues that were discussed. However, I would like this time to
express my appreciation for your presence here. The Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia has suffered a lot from distortion of the truth by
the media. I believe that this has been happening because of the
deficit in contacts between us. Maybe we made a mistake by not
giving more opportunities to the media to visit the country.
However, this will change and we hope that your visits will not be
limited to state visits only, and that you will be coming to
represent your newspapers and your TV channels, and you will
always be welcome.
Hamas
In reply to a question about the presence of a plan or a programme
in the talks between President Chirac and Saudi officials about
including Hamas in negotiations, his highness the foreign minister
said: Yes, naturally this have been discussed in detail because of
the two countries' great mutual interest in following up the
oldest conflict in the world. Efforts are being exerted to find a
solution. This is one of the most important concerns for both
leaders.
Elections took place. The Palestinians were urged by the
international community to hold these elections, and we told
everybody that no-one could predict the outcome of these
elections. In other words, if you want to hold elections whose
outcome you can predict then there is no need to hold them. But
the elections did take place, and they were indeed open and fair,
and the outcome was Hamas's clear victory. Our advice was always
to give a chance to the new government to express itself, to
discuss its options and decide what approach to take before
prejudging it in what we say or what we plan to do.
His Highness further said that everybody knows that when
governments are formed following elections, they do not
necessarily stick to what they say during the election campaign.
What matters is what they say after the government is formed and
what they will do. This is why neither France nor Saudi will
prejudge them. This is what we have decided. We will wait and see
what Hamas will do. We believe that the maximum we hope for is
that they will express the aspirations of the Palestinian people.
There is no crystal ball that will give us an idea of what will
happen. However, we believe that as a government they will behave
responsibly in representing the interests of the Palestinian
people. We have not met them yet, but Hamas will be paying a visit
to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the next few days.
Iraq
Regarding the kingdom and France's position about Iraq, his
highness said: Elections have taken place in Iraq. It has a
parliament, a constitution and the government will be formed.
Therefore, it is difficult for me to talk about a Saudi and French
effort before we can see the government programme. As for the
position of the two countries with regard to Iraq, we would like
to guarantee the unity, territorial integrity and prosperity of
the country. We hope that this will happen. We also hope to see an
end to the sectarian problem faced by Iraq. We can see a united
Iraq living in harmony and peace with its neighbours, and a fair
distribution of riches of this wealthy country among its citizens.
We also want to see it play the role we have been missing for many
long years as a stability factor. This is what we hope to see.
Lebanon, Syria
In reply to a question about Lebanon and the extent of the
proximity of views between the kingdom and France regarding the
current crisis, whether there is any intention to revive the
efforts, and whether there is Arab mediation, his highness said
that our views about Lebanon are very close. Both France and the
kingdom have one single interest in their minds, which is to see
the stability, prosperity and independence of Lebanon. This is
what we hope, and God knows that we have no other hope but the
prompt success of this policy. We only want peace and stability
for this country, and we hope that the meetings being held by the
Lebanese leaders' committee will achieve the aspired results, and
will bring solidarity. We would be most happy if that took place.
As for initiatives, the matter depends on Lebanon. Should Lebanon
ask for or need any type of assistance, I am sure that the two
countries will respond. But, as long as they are dealing with the
issue by themselves, we are very happy that they are doing so, and
we very much hope that they will succeed.
In reply to a question about Lebanese-Syrian ties, and whether
there is an effort to convince the Syrian president to have equal
relations with Lebanon because the French really want to see the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as the biggest country in the region,
exert efforts to this effect, his highness said: We hope to see
healthy relations between Syria and Lebanon. That is what we were
hoping and what we are working for, and I believe that both
countries are interested in ties based on sound foundations. This
is the only logical thing, because the lack of stability in one
country can reflect on the stability of the other country. This is
the nature of the history and geography of the region. I believe
that the two countries should do the necessary to achieve that if
they want to have healthy relations between them for the benefit
of the two countries and their two peoples.
There is no need to say that the content of this dialogue should
be about the way to achieve these ties, as this depends on both
countries. There are many people who are blaming left, right and
centre in an attempt to destabilize the other party, but we
believe that the stability of each country is important for the
other. If there are problems faced by the one country, this does
not mean that the other country is the cause. Some of these
problems are local, and we cannot blame the other party for
everything. This is our hope. We are walking a tightrope, and this
is a critical time for Lebanon. We think that the process
initiated by the leaders should be given a chance without any
other influences on it. The process of dealing with the political
crisis is the best for all of us.
"Strategic partnership"
In reply to a question about the way to restructure the government
circles responsible for strategic partnership between the two
countries [the kingdom and France], His Highness said that with
regard to restructuring - and here I do not want to blame the two
foreign ministers for this - the two foreign ministers were in
charge of the committee which was supposed to do the follow-up,
and that, unfortunately, they are busy, at least His Excellency
the French foreign minister is, as I am not as busy as him. He has
got so many things to do, more than myself. However, we thought
that it would be better that the committee is chaired by the
minister who deals directly with economic issues. Therefore, we
have decided to change the two chairmen of the committee, and
turned the preparatory committee - as it is not just for making
preparations - into a follow-up committee. Therefore, this
committee will prepare the agenda and the issues, and follow up
their implementation.
One of the important changes is focusing on the role of the
private sector. As you have seen, the number of representatives of
the private sector was small - I believe that they were more
numerous than you [the Saudis] - in the French delegation that
came here [as published]. This is encouraging for us because we
believe that the private sector is the main mover of economy
activity. We would like to see more French companies come to the
kingdom not just for trade but for investment as well. I would
also like to see the same thing in the other direction. I would
like Saudi companies to have partnership for investment in France.
Laws that are likely to help them have been revised, and any
facilities needed to expand the private sector will be given by
the two governments.
Iraq - civil war?
In reply to a question about his highness's vision of the current
situation in Iraq which is on the brink of a civil war, and about
the implications this situation may have first on Saudi Arabia and
secondly on the other Gulf countries, his highness the foreign
minister said: I would be more optimistic than this, and I hope
that Iraq will find stability. There are those against stability
in Iraq. They have their own objectives. These forces must be
defeated by the Iraqi people. Until this is done, the situation
will remain fragile and critical in Iraq. It is sure that if
something happens in Iraq, it will be a catastrophe for the
region. This is why we hope that the wisdom of the Iraqi people
and its care for its own country will prevail and will be
victorious over any other efforts whatever their origin.
"Friendship"
In reply to a question about the friendship between President
Chirac and King Abdallah, and whether this relationship will
change when President Chirac leaves office following the elections
next year in France, his highness said that it is clear that the
relationship between the two men is very close. They are very
honest and frank partners and friends. So, this is definitely an
ideal relationship between two leaders, but they are in charge of
their countries as well, and one deals with whoever is chosen to
lead a country. As for the personal aspect, we hope that it will
remain as strong between President Chirac and the Custodian of the
Two Holy Mosques. Any French leader will be held in high esteem by
the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the king and the
government, and we will work with him with the same usual honesty.
This was reflected in our dealing with the previous governments
which were close to us. As for friendship on a personal level, one
cannot be sure that this will be strong as it is between the two
men [Chirac and Abdallah], but as leaders, they will be as frank
and honest with each other, and will work as hard for the benefit
of the peoples of the two countries, as these two men do.
Iran
In reply to a question about the position of the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia should Iran acquire nuclear weapons, His Highness Prince
Sa'ud al-Faisal said that ownership of nuclear weapons will be a
dangerous matter. No one likes to see their neighbour in
possession of nuclear weapons. However, the Iranian government has
assured us that it is not aiming to acquire nuclear weapons. If
this is the case, then we are sure that the Iranian government is
well aware that it should avoid any suspicious activities that
will weaken the credibility of their assurance. We hope that they
are convinced of the right nature of making the Middle East,
including the Gulf region, free from weapons of mass destruction.
Naturally, as I have said many times before, we can witness
double-standards in the issue of nuclear non-proliferation
particularly in the Middle East, since people are turning a blind
eye to what is happening in Israel, but they are following
traditionally firm policies against all the other countries. This
has harmed the issue of non-proliferation in the Middle East. We
hope that there will be equal treatment in dealing with this
matter. The best way to resolve this issue is not to have any
weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East. God knows that
Israel does not need these weapons, because it is the only country
which enjoys security guarantees from almost all the countries,
including France. Therefore, we do not see any reason why it needs
nuclear weapons when it enjoys all these guarantees for the
security of its lands.
King's tour
In reply to a question about the first tour of the Custodian of
the two Holy Mosques since he took office when he chose to go
neither to its [traditional] partner and ally, the USA, nor to
Europe, but went to China and India, and whether there is
political significance attached to this, his highness the foreign
minister said that it is not a matter of choice. Moreover, we do
have long historical ties with the USA. These are very strong ties
which are beneficial for the two countries. They will remain as
they are and will not change. As for the tour of the Custodian of
the Two Holy Mosques in the Far East, this is not a surprise as we
have very important relations with all the countries we visited in
Asia. This visit was aimed at entrenching these ties and starting
them on grounds of total agreement about what direction we are
taking, what we are trying to achieve, and the best way to protect
the interests of our respective peoples.
This is why it was not an issue of priorities, since there has not
been any change in the priorities. We do not have a world policy,
because we are a small country which has interests. In any case,
the Asian countries we visited represent half the population of
the world. Therefore, this was not a surprise, and there was no
hidden agenda behind this tour.
Iranian "playground"
In reply to a question about the current situation in Iraq, and
whether Iraq will be for Iran what Lebanon was for Syria over the
last thirty years, in other words, whether Iran will be the main
power controlling Iraq, and whether Saudi Arabia will accept that,
His Highness said that Iraq is not a small country. It is a
country that has a history, and which has been there for thousands
of years, not centuries. It is a country that has a civilization
and history, and I doubt that Iraq will be the playground for any
other country, big or small. We hope that the new Iraq will have
good and peaceful ties with all its neighbors including Iran.
However, these ties cannot be reached through attempts to spread
fear, or gain unreasonable favours from another country during its
hour of weakness.
I believe that it would be wise for all Iraq's neighbors, be they
Iran, or Saudi Arabia or any other neighbor during this period of
instability in the country, to show their support for Iraq by not
interfering, and by doing the things that will help Iraq's unity
and support it in affirming its independence and territorial
integrity. Any other policy followed by any of Iraq's neighbors will backfire on the country that will initiate it. Therefore,
yes, I am worried about any events in Iraq, God forbid, that may
endanger its unity, but I will not be worried if Iraq's neighbors did what will make it the great country we know, and did not turn
it into a country that will harm other countries.
Hamas meeting
In reply to a question about the Palestinian issue, whether there
is a plan to meet Hamas, and whether there is an agreement with
President Chirac to put the three [Israeli] pre-conditions to
Hamas: rejecting violence, accepting the 1993 Oslo accords and
recognizing Israel, His Highness Sa'ud al-Faisal said that with
regard to the first question, yes, we will meet them here in the
next few days. As regards the conditions, we do not have any
conditions, and we hope that they - as a government - will
represent the interests of the Palestinian people. We are waiting
to see what kind of leadership they will have for the Palestinian
movement. We do not prejudge them, and we do not have
pre-conditions for them.
Source: SPA website, Riyadh - March 7, 2006
|
