LONDON, 24 July 2005 — The Kingdom’s nominee for ambassador to the United States said he would try to bridge a “gap” in relations and defend compatriots accused of complicity in the Sept. 11 attacks.
“Opinion polls... suggest that there is a big gap between the two peoples resulting from the events of Sept. 11, 2001,” in which 15 of 19 hijackers were Saudi, Prince Turki Al-Faisal said.
“Hence, one of my top priorities there will be to bridge this gap between the two peoples... building on Crown Prince Abdullah’s (April) visit to the United States, which was successful by all standards.”
Prince Turki, who is currently ambassador to Britain, said he would seek to defend Saudis against whom lawsuits have been filed for alleged involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks, and who number around 200 individuals and institutions.
“We have to follow this up with the courts... The US judiciary, like the Saudi judiciary, is independent. If these courts closed these cases, we would have achieved what we are seeking. Otherwise, we will continue to exercise self-defense,” he said.
In May, a New York judge rejected a fresh set of lawsuits against Saudi officials and banks for alleged involvement in the September 11 attacks, citing a lack of evidence.
Judge Richard Casey threw out a consolidation of lawsuits filed in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, which were brought by survivors and insurers. His action followed a January ruling throwing out several similar suits.
Turki said the Kingdom had not formally asked Britain to extradite London-based dissidents Saad Al-Faqih and Muhammad Al-Masari. A handover “has not been formally requested but consultations are ongoing between the two governments about what can be done,” he said.
Prince Turki said his main achievement during his stint in the British capital was to restore good relations between London and Riyadh, which had previously gone through “something of a chill.”
