“We have made a lot of efforts in this respect through the Arab League and the United Nations. But we could not achieve that goal because of Israel possessing nuclear weapons,” he said.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Prince Turki said Israel has also refused to sign the nuclear nonproliferation treaty (NPT) and does not allow international inspectors to visit its nuclear facilities.

He said the Middle East is currently threatened by the spread of WMD. “The presence of an Iranian nuclear reactor near the Gulf would have dangerous consequences on countries in the region if any leakage or accidents take place there,” he said.

Referring to the nuclear standoff between Tehran and Western powers, the prince hoped that it would be settled peacefully. He emphasized Iran’s right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

He also spoke about Saudi Arabia’s efforts to combat terrorism. “Terrorism is an international phenomenon. It has no religion or nationality. Saudi Arabia was one of the first countries to suffer from it.”

Prince Turki said Saudi Arabia held an international conference to fight terrorism and called for the establishment of an international counterterrorism center under the auspices of the United Nations.

About 350 delegates from 50 countries took part in the annual conference in Munich and discussed a number of political and security issues.

The conference, attended by leaders from US, Europe and Asia, found cooperation on various issues, including preventing violence during the recent referendum in south Sudan and curbing piracy off Somalia. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov signed and exchanged instruments of ratification for the New START treaty Saturday.

Clinton called it a “milestone” in the US-Russian partnership while Lavrov said the US and Russian teams “worked as one team” to get the treaty negotiated and adopted.