JEDDAH, 22 March — Ben Bradshaw, MP and British Foreign Office minister for the Middle East, has said that Britain, which is backing the Middle East peace initiative of Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, has been “very, very active diplomatically” in initiating negotiations to tackle serious issues, mainly the peace process in the region.
“Since the Camp David accord, we’ve been very active in facilitating negotiations,” Bradshaw, who returned home yesterday, told Arab News.
“The international community should put pressure on both sides not only in the interest of Palestinians and Israelis but also in the interest of people in the Arab world,” he said, adding that his country’s “main concern” was to get Americans engaged in this task.
Britain had already given its support to the Saudi peace initiative, and it would continue to pursue efforts to reach peace, coordinating with the US and other international mediators, the UN, the EU and other interested parties in the region, he said.
Asked to comment on reports that US Vice President Dick Cheney had failed to muster support for possible military action against Iraq for not complying with the UN resolution for weapons inspection, he said: “We back UN efforts to get weapons inspectors back into Iraq. We are concerned. We know (Iraqi President) Saddam Hussein has developed weapons of mass destruction. However, to talk of military action is premature.”
Bradshaw, who had meetings with high-ranking officials in Riyadh and Jeddah since his arrival two days ago, said at the opening of the new “splendid” offices of the Jeddah branch of British Council on Wednesday that the relationship between the two countries had got a further boost.
“The aftermath of the events of Sept. 11 have shown that there’s a need to engage and learn from each other. The people-to-people diplomacy, which is the central role of British Council, has never been more important and necessary than it is today. The aim of the council is to provide educational opportunity and to build sustainable, mutually beneficial relationships with our many friends and partners in the Kingdom.”
