PARIS, 15 April 2005 — Crown Prince Abdullah held a second round of talks with French President Jacques Chirac here yesterday and said Riyadh and Paris held identical views on major issues. “There are absolutely no disagreements between France and Saudi Arabia on any matters,” the crown prince told journalists after an hour-long meeting with Chirac at Elysee Palace.
Asked about the political future of Lebanon, he said: “Lebanon is a country that is very dear to us. Lebanon and Syria are brotherly countries, and there will not be any differences between them.”
Asked whether there was any plan to hold a conference to harmonize the Taif Accord with UN Security Council Resolution 1559, Prince Abdullah said: “Reconciliation is possible and that’s what we want.”
For his part, the French president described his working lunch with Prince Abdullah as “perfect, as always, given the traditional, long-standing and very strong friendship between Saudi Arabia and France”.
Before they sat down for lunch at the Elysee Palace, Chirac and the crown prince toured the Islamic arts section of the Louvre Museum. Prince Abdullah presented two gifts to the museum — a model of the Grand Mosque in Makkah and another of the door of the Holy Kaaba.
Prince Abdullah met Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin at his Matignon offices yesterday and discussed major international issues and ways of strengthening bilateral relations.
Prince Abdullah is scheduled to leave here for Morocco today on a several-day private visit before heading to the US for talks with US President George W. Bush at his Texas ranch on April 25.
On Wednesday, Chirac praised Saudi Arabia’s “ambitious” reform program and promised France would be “at the side of the Saudis” in the fight against terrorism. “Under your impetus, the Kingdom has undertaken an ambitious program of transformation to which I would like to pay homage,” he said.
Chirac also assured Saudi Arabia, which suffered a series of terrorist attacks blamed on Al-Qaeda militants, that France “will continue to be at the side of the Saudis.”
“Together, in the framework of the United Nations and the treaties binding us, we are determined to do everything to defeat this scourge that nothing ever can justify,” the French president added.
Chirac himself went to Orly airport south of Paris to greet the crown prince, which underscored the strong relations between two leaders. “Whenever I visit France, we feel that we are visiting part of a great living history, the history of civilizations, history of sciences and arts, history of thoughts and philosophy and history of freedom,” Prince Abdullah said.
Addressing a grand reception at Elysee Palace on Wednesday, the crown prince also described France as a symbol of moderation and tolerance. “We are proud of our strong relations, which are not limited to a single field but encompasses cultural, investment, economic and defense areas,” he said.
Prince Abdullah also noted “a high degree” of cooperation and consultation between the two countries in order to safeguard their common interests.
The crown prince called upon Chirac to support all efforts for strengthening Saudi-French ties in order to “make our friendship a model” for relations between countries and peoples.
