JEDDAH, 27 September - Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who held talks here yesterday with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd, called for a political solution to end terrorism.
"Saudi Arabia and Lebanon agree that the solution to terrorism is not the use of force," he told a press conference in Jeddah.
"The Middle East region is in need of a political solution, most importantly an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict," the Lebanese premier said.
During his meeting with King Fahd, Hariri discussed the latest global developments and ways of strengthening bilateral ties. "My meetings with the Saudi leadership is part of our regular consultations for the benefit of the Arab nation and the region," he said, and emphasized the importance of coordinating stances in this particular phase.
He said Riyadh and Beirut had agreed to cooperate with the US in its fight against terrorism, and commended the stand taken by Islamabad. "Pakistan took that stand not because of any deal but because of its conviction that it was doing the right thing to uphold the reputation of Islam."
Hariri said Washington had not imposed any specific conditions on Arab countries to join the alliance against terrorism. "The talk is now on the need for cooperation among security agencies by exchanging information and handing over suspects, instead of saying excuses such as there are no security agreements.
"They have sent us a list of persons to get more information about them, and have asked to freeze their accounts. The list contains certain old and oft-repeated names. We have done that," he said.
He said all Arab countries had denounced the Sept. 11 attacks. "The present discussion is the legal structure of the coalition, whether it should be under the United Nations or the US and Europe and nothing has been finalized."
Hariri reiterated the viewpoint of Arab leaders that the terror attacks have no link with Islam or Muslims or Arabs. "It's just terrorism, and we reject it," he added.
The premier denounced the move by the Israeli media to link Palestinian fighters with terrorism. Asked about the financing of terrorism by certain countries, Hariri said: "Arab governments have been fighting extremist groups for several years. But these groups find their refuge in the US and Europe which harbor them under the guise of democracy."
