RIYADH, 31 January 2007 — Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal told Arab News yesterday that the Kingdom appoints its ambassadors based on their qualifications and their capabilities for success in their post and not on their affiliation to the royal family.
“There is no difference in terms of representation,” he said, referring to the appointment of Adel Al-Jubair as the Kingdom’s new ambassador to the United States, replacing Prince Turki Al-Faisal. “Royal or non-royal, all ambassadors represent Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah in the country to which they are accredited. All have the same duties and the same tasks.”
Addressing a joint press conference with visiting Moroccan Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Mohamed Benaissa, Prince Saud said that both Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas had welcomed the suggestion from King Abdullah that they meet in Makkah.
“It is a nonconditional proposal to set aside differences, stop violence and bloodshed and have the Palestinians return to a unified position,” Prince Saud said.
Benaissa agreed with Prince Saud, saying King Abdullah’s suggestion stemmed from his feeling of responsibility toward the Muslim and Arab world. “That the two groups meet near the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque to settle their differences is a major achievement,” he said.
The prince did not specify when the Palestinian groups would arrive in Makkah but he noted that there had never been greater international determination to achieve peace in the Middle East and to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Commenting on a meeting of the Middle East Quartet scheduled for Friday in Washington, Prince Saud said he was hopeful it would concentrate on establishing two states — Palestine and Israel — which would live side by side. He also said officials should take lessons from past mistakes and not concentrate on side issues. “There are core issues that have to be dealt with in order for incidental issues to be discussed,” he pointed out.
The Saudi foreign minister confirmed that the next Arab summit would be held in the Kingdom in March and said Saudi Arabia would send invitations to all Arab leaders.
Referring to talks between King Abdullah and Iranian envoy Ali Larijani, Prince Saud said Iran had expressed its desire to look after Muslim interests and stop the spread of violence in the Muslim world. He said the Kingdom hoped these desires would “be implemented on the ground, especially in Lebanon.”
The foreign minister said he was optimistic that peace would be achieved in Lebanon, saying the amount of funds raised at the Paris conference last week gave an indication of the global community’s support for Lebanon.
He stressed, however, that peace would prevail in Lebanon only if “its national interest is put first and there is no foreign interference and the Lebanese are left alone to solve their own problems.”
He said the Kingdom looked forward to receiving Russian President Vladimir Putin next month. He said relations between the two countries had strengthened since King Abdullah visited the country as crown prince. The Kingdom and Morocco concluded their 10th Saudi-Moroccan Joint Commission meeting in Riyadh yesterday. The meeting focused on areas of bilateral interest, especially in the economic sector.
“Areas of cooperation focused on removing hurdles to the flow of trade and investment opportunities,” a statement from the Saudi Foreign Ministry said. It also mentioned that the two sides had approved a number of plans to deepen cooperation in the cultural, educational, and media sectors.
