RIYADH, 28 October — Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, yesterday told visiting French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine that the terrorist scourge would be whittled down "by more than 50 percent" if the Palestinian problem was resolved.
Vedrine also met Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd and conveyed a message to him from French President Jacques Chirac.
Prince Abdullah said the crisis over Afghanistan cannot be solved by force alone and Pakistan must be "closely associated" with a political settlement there.
"Crown Prince Abdullah emphasized the need to find a political solution in Afghanistan and to closely involve Pakistan and President Pervez Musharraf in the search for a settlement," a member of Vedrine’s entourage who attended the meeting between the two men told AFP. "He also pointed out that a protracted military campaign would threaten Gen. Musharraf," the official said.
The Pakistani leader is under pressure from Islamist groups staunchly opposed to the US-led bombing of Afghanistan which began Oct. 7 after Kabul’s Taleban regime refused to hand over prime terror suspect Osama Bin Laden to the United States.
According to the French official, Prince Abdullah said that "force alone would not bring a solution" in Afghanistan, and he urged Vedrine to discuss a French proposal for a settlement with Pakistani leaders. The French foreign minister promised to do so "very soon," the official said.
An Afghan "plan of action" proposed by France on Oct. 1 envisages parallel efforts on four fronts: humanitarian, political, economic and security (to rid the country of land mines). The French plan aims at speeding up moves to promote a political process for a peaceful transition in Afghanistan.
"I discussed the main aspects of the Afghan problem with Saudi leaders," Vedrine told a joint news conference with his Saudi counterpart Prince Saud Al-Faisal at the end of a brief visit to the Kingdom.
"Our two countries are resolutely engaged in the fight against terrorism, which requires perseverance at all levels," he said.
Vedrine said he hoped the current US-led military campaign would destroy terrorist networks as quickly as possible. But where Afghanistan’s political future is concerned, "we must hope that a political process will make it possible to put in place an interim authority leading up to a government in which all Afghan (factions) are represented," he said.
Prince Saud for his part maintained that Paris and Riyadh see eye to eye on the anti-terror fight, saying international cooperation was needed to destroy the terrorists’ infrastructure and dry up their sources of funding.
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Afghanistan’s rulers "bear the major responsibility for what is happening to the country," said Prince Saud in a reference to the Taleban. The Saudi minister underscored his country’s strong relations with the United States.
France’s chief diplomat, while voicing regret over civilian victims of the US-led strikes, said the military campaign against Afghanistan was legitimate. He hoped that military operation would achieve its goals as quickly as possible.
"Saudi authorities confirmed their determination to fight terrorism by all means, including of course by (helping dry up the terrorists’) funding," Vedrine told reporters.
"We underscore that this concerns other countries too and should be a global effort under UN auspices," he said. Vedrine also stressed the need to "address all injustices and crises which fuel terrorism."
His remarks were echoed in the message from French President Jacques Chirac, which he delivered to King Fahd, according to a French diplomatic source.
"While the anti-terror drive must target those who engage in and fund terrorism, we must also address regional political problems which create frustrations and thus stoke up extremism," the French leader said.
"Persisting tensions in the Middle East, and the absence of prospects for a resumption of (peace) negotiations, are a cause of concern," Chirac said.
Turning to the global anti-terror fight, the French leader said that cracking down on the terrorists’ bank-rollers was "an essential part of the patient and determined effort" required from the international community.
"Drying up the resources of fanatical groups is a crucial part of the effort to eradicate their crimes," Chirac said in his message.
Blair visit on Wednesday: British Prime Minister Tony Blair will make a one-day visit to the Kingdom on Wednesday, Saudi sources said yesterday.
Blair will become the latest in a line of Western ministers to visit the country as the war on Afghanistan intensifies and blood flows in the Palestinian territories.
During the two-day trip Blair, who has traveled the world rallying support for the campaign against terrorism, will discuss the air strikes on the Taleban and the situation in Middle East and the Palestinian territories, official sources said.
The topics were also on the agenda of German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer on Tuesday and Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Pique two days before.
A European Union heavyweight ministerial delegation led by foreign policy chief Javier Solana, external relations commissioner Chris Patten, Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel and Pique also visited Riyadh on Sept. 26.
British-Saudi relations are generally good, but newspaper reports said Riyadh had asked London to call off a similar visit by Blair in mid-October.
Interior Minister Prince Naif said the trip had been rescheduled for a better date and not cancelled.
