Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Saudi Foreign Minister has affirmed that the best way to strengthen the Quartet’s efforts is to institutionally combine the Road Map and the Arab Peace Plan by unifying the efforts of the Quartet and the Arab League Peace Committee.
In an address on “The Middle East Peace Process,” at the 14th session of the Joint Ministerial Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the European Union on Monday, Prince Saud Al-Faisal said that the Arab Peace Initiative, in the opinion of GCC member states, comprises the most comprehensive peace settlement, for it provides not only for peace between the Palestinians and Israelis but also for peace between Israel and all other Arab countries, including Syria and Lebanon. The two plans complement each other perfectly.
Referring to the joint EU-GCC responsibility in this regard, Prince Saud Al-Faisal said: “It makes requisite that we expend every possible effort to advance the peace process to ensure that it achieves the desired objectives, in spite of the worrying setbacks we have witnessed in recent months. Our goal to achieve a strategic partnership with the EU is strongly linked to our ability to contribute in the achievement of a just, enduring, comprehensive peace settlement for the Middle East,” he added.
Prince Saud deplored the recent setbacks for the peace process, and the rising tide of violence and extremism in the region, which is provoked by the path of destruction chosen by the Israeli Government. “This path clearly starkly contradicts all agreed principles and foundations of the peace process, including those of the Road Map and the American vision of two states living side by side in peace and security, in accordance with which decent living conditions for both Palestinians and Israelis could be realised,” he noted.
Prince Saud affirmed that the GCC states had been committed to the path of reform long before the so-called ‘Greater Middle East Initiative’ was launched by the United States. “In spite of the current difficulties in the peace process, our reform efforts are continuous and cumulative in their effects. Our political leadership is keenly aware of the necessity to continue reform efforts to meet the needs of our citizens by achieving good governance and equality for all citizens in the eyes of the law.”
The following is the full text of Prince Saud Al-Faisal’s address at the meeting:
“Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, members of delegations: I wish to express my delegation’s gratitude to the Presidency of the European Union, the European Commission and the Secretariat of the EU for all their efforts in preparing for this 14th session of the GCC-EU Joint Ministerial Council. I wish to welcome the new members on the European side whose participation in this dialogue will certainly enrich GCC-EU cooperation.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen: It is surely safe to say that international security and stability, which concern us all, as well as the achievement of our goal for a strategic partnership are strongly linked to our ability to contribute in achieving a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East. Our joint responsibility in this regard makes requisite that we expend every possible effort to advance the peace process to ensure that it reaches its desired objectives in the face of the visible and dangerous setbacks witnessed in recent months.
In our opinion, these setbacks in the peace process, and the ensuing, rising tide of violence and extremism in our region, derive mainly from the path chosen by the Israeli Government. This path clearly and starkly contradicts all agreed principles and foundations of the peace process, including those of the Road Map and the American vision of two states living in peace and security side by side, where decent living conditions for both Palestinians and Israelis could be provided.
Peace and security cannot be achieved by unilateral Israeli actions that aim to create new realities on the ground and predetermine the issues of final status negotiations. Yet this is exactly the path chosen by the Israeli Government in its expansion of settlements and the building of a wall that dissects large areas of Palestinian lands. I am saddened to say that this irrational Israeli path has recently received public support from the United States, which was supposed to utilize its special relationship with Israel to make it adhere to the foundations of the peace process, not weaken nor destroy them.
Even the Israeli announcement of the intent to withdraw from Gaza was not made in adherence to the Road Map but by ignoring and side-stepping it in an attempt to gain legitimacy for settlements in the West Bank: This threatens the pillars of the international legal system.
If Israel were serious in its peace efforts, the decision to withdraw from Gaza should have been made under the supervision of the Quartet and in accordance with a balanced implementation of the Road Map. Israel’s continued policies of oppression, assassination, closures, boycotts, demolition of houses, destruction of property and general humiliation of the Palestinian people can only serve the extremists on both sides by deepening the feelings of despair and paving the way for continued violence and bloodshed.
The GCC member states stand ready today, as they always have, fully to support any efforts aimed at establishing the foundations of a just peace in the Middle East. In this context our governments supported the efforts of the Quartet to achieve a balanced implementation of the Road Map. We wish that the recent meeting of the Quartet had produced a more clear and firm stance to ensure such implementation by both sides.
Perhaps the best way to strengthen the Quartet’s efforts is to institutionally combine the Road Map and the Arab Peace Plan by unifying the efforts of the Quartet and the Arab League Peace Committee. The Arab Peace Initiative, in our opinion, contains the most comprehensive elements required for the final peace settlement, for it provides for not only peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis but also between Israel and all Arab countries, including Syria and Lebanon. The two plans complement each other perfectly.
It behoves us to take advantage of the efforts by civil societies on both sides of the divide to convince their respective public opinion of the desirability of peace. It is an opportunity that should not be dissipated.
As we assert our deep conviction that our region badly needs reform aimed at achieving good governance and respect for people’s rights, we are deeply concerned when voices are heard suggesting a trade-off between this need for reform and the need for peace. Although the two are related, each is valued on its own merit. We should not utilize the pressing need for reforms to postpone or ignore the equally pressing need for peace, nor should we escape to the future to avoid the responsibility to overcome the obstacles the peace process faces. The other side of the coin is equally valid: reforms should not be held hostage by developments in the peace process.
We were committed to the path of reform long before the so-called ‘Greater Middle East Initiative’ was launched. In spite of current difficulties in the peace process, our reform efforts are continuous and cumulative in their effects.
Our political leadership is keenly aware of the necessity to continue reform efforts to meet the needs of our citizens by achieving good governance and equality for all citizens in the eyes of the law. These reform efforts will continue through calculated steps regardless of any internal reservations or external pressures. Reforms, for us, are not mere slogans or formulas imposed upon us from abroad. Our societies are not laboratories for experimentation or stages for adventurous schemes. These reforms are for the benefit of our citizens, and it is they who are the true arbiters of their government’s efforts.
Providing investments, the transfer of technology, the signing of free-trade agreements and supporting our efforts to join the World Trade Organization are all needed at this time to create an apt environment for our own programs of modernization and to guarantee their speedy achievement. These are the areas where the West can truly help the process of reform.
If we believe that there are universal values, then the best way that advanced Western countries can influence their spread and acceptance is to provide an example worthy of emulation, and avoid the perception of double standards and imposed dictates. This is the only way to build credibility and trust that are sadly lacking in the Middle East due to past experiences. We recognize the more balanced policies of European countries towards the just settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the efforts to remove obstacles to peace: these policies are greatly appreciated.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen: I hope that our next meeting will be held under more promising conditions regarding the peace process. The time is ripe for peace, if only we have the will to stand firm against those whose interest seems to be to perpetuate the conflict.”
Source: SPA
