The Foreign Minister, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, stressed the Kingdom’s keenness to find a peaceful resolution for the Iraqi crisis.
In an interview with U.S. CNN, which was transmitted today, he said that the Kingdom is working for peace and not for planning war. It does not plan to join any efforts towards war on Iraq, and no attacks will be launched from Saudi territories.
In response to a question about the refuelling of planes, Prince Saud said: “There will be no refuelling of fighter planes within Saudi territories. There will be restrictions in this regard.”
He stressed the imperative that Iraq fully cooperate with U.N. inspectors: “Iraq should do what the inspectors ask, and do it quickly. If Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, it should disclose them; if it does not, it should account for them.”
On the Palestinian issue, Prince Saud noted that, during various talks and a meeting in Texas with Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard, U.S. President George W. Bush affirmed that he is working to resolve the Palestinian issue and promote the establishment of a Palestinian state to coexist with Israel in peace and security. Prince Saud said that he believes in this commitment, and awaits further efforts towards its implementation.
In response to a question on the presence of hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops in post-war Iraq, he said: “The occupation of Iraq would not be simple. How several thousands of troops would maintain order in a country like Iraq, particularly if war leads to the instability and chaos that we predict, is unclear. If the social order breaks down, who will be fighting whom?”
Source: SPA
