ANKARA, 23 April 2004 — A suicide car bomb attack in Riyadh which killed four people and wounded 148 more has exposed the ruthless “true nature” of terrorists, Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said here yesterday.
“I think they (the terrorists) will face the ire of our citizens, not only of the government of Saudi Arabia, for what they have done,” Prince Saud told reporters after talks in Ankara with Turkish officials.
“Their masks are down, what they have claimed to be fighting for is no longer what they are fighting for. They have bared their fangs, their true nature... Now they are attacking poor citizens and they will get what they deserve for these evil acts.”
Asked about Saudi Arabia’s ties with the United States, Prince Saud said: “Our cooperation is continuing on security issues. There is a security cooperation commission, but this is no guarantee for putting an end to terrorism.”
Prince Saud called for closer cooperation with Turkey, another key US ally in the region, in fighting terrorism.
“Our cooperation to erase this evil... would be beneficial for both our countries. We look forward to increasing our cooperation in the fight against terrorism,” he said, with Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul by his side.
Echoing Prince Saud’s remarks, Gul said: “The two countries must be in close cooperation against terrorism.”
Turkey suffered a series of suicide bomb attacks last November hitting British and Jewish targets in its biggest city Istanbul. More than 60 people, mostly Muslim Turks, died in those attacks, for which Al- Qaeda claimed responsibility.
Prince Saud and Gul also discussed the situation in Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Prince Saud said both countries wanted to preserve Iraq’s territorial integrity and supported a swift transfer of power to a “legitimate government which represents all Iraqis.”
