Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Foreign Minister, and UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan held a joint press conference here last night.
At the beginning of the press conference, Prince Saud made a short statement in which he stressed Saudi support for the work of the United Nations.
He stated that Saudi Arabia supports the UN role in resolving international disputes in accordance with international law.
"We had a long and thorough discussion on various issues including, Palestine and Iraq and reached joint agreements," said Prince Saud. "The UN plays an important role especially at this time when there is turmoil and disarray in international relations. We depend on the UN to return things to order while following the international law," he said.
Then, Annan made a statement in which he expressed his happiness for visiting Saudi Arabia.
Annan agreed with Prince Saud about the difficult times and the challenges facing the world. He said the current need was for collective security and international cooperation. "These challenges cannot be tackled by a single country", he said.
Annan said: "We had a good discussion with [Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz] and congratulated him on his accession and the reform programs he initiated."
Then, Prince Saud and Annan answered questions by reporters.
Responding to a question on regional issues, Annan stressed UN's efforts to resolve the problems in Iraq and Israel.
Responding to a question on the Syrian crisis and investigation into assassination of the former Lebanese premier, Rafiq Al-Hariri, Prince Saud said that Syria had promised to cooperate fully in this regard and he hoped that the result of the investigation would only lead to punishment of the perpetrators and not include the Syrian people.
On the same issue, Annan said: "The sole objective is getting to the truth and holding the perpetrators accountable. It is the beginning of a process. Impunity is not acceptable. [UN investigator Detlev] Mehlis is following the evidence wherever it might lead, and whoever is implicated should be held accountable regardless of his position."
On Saudi role in this regard, Annan said: "Saudi Arabia is important in the region. We expect it to urge Syria to cooperate fully."
Responding to a question on some international media reports on the report issued by the US State Department which described Saudi Arabia as one of the countries causing concern in connection with religious freedom, Prince Saud said: "It is better for those who judge matters in other countries to look inside their own homes before looking inside other peoples' homes."
He added: "Saudi Arabia is carrying out its duty toward its citizens and expatriates living in it. It is confident of measures it takes regardless of any report issued by any source."
