JEDDAH, 27 August 2006 — Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal yesterday called upon Arab countries to rise up to the expectations of their people.
“The current situation demands from us to work together seriously to regain the confidence of our people and the respect of the international community,” he told a press conference here.
Prince Saud reiterated the need for revamping the 23-member Arab League to make it an effective organization that would realize the hopes and aspirations of Arab people.
“What is needed now is to strengthen the role of the Arab League by adopting a methodology for effective and fruitful action,” he explained.
He said the extraordinary Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo had emphasized its support and solidarity with Lebanon to preserve its unity, stability, sovereignty and security as well as for rebuilding the country.
The minister urged the United Nations to look into the root cause of the Arab-Israeli conflict that poses a serious threat to world peace and security.
He said Saudi Arabia was not against holding an emergency Arab summit. However, he insisted that adequate preparations were required to make it successful.
He cautioned against the phenomenon of some Arab countries establishing relations with other parties at the expense of inter-Arab relationships. “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has called for conducting a study to change this tragic situation,” he said.
He said the current situation had left people in the region confused and bewildered about their interests after seeing the clear failure of their governments in dealing with the challenges. He said the Kingdom would present its views on this matter to Arab leaders for examination.
“We need to go back to our Arab identity and to take serious action in making our views clear and unified to protect our interests,” he said.
Prince Saud said the categorization of Arab countries into reactionaries, progressive and those in the front lines had crippled joint Arab action. “This has led to extempore reactions instead of adopting strategic joint decisions to confront crises and challenges,” he added.
Speaking about the military standoff between Israel and Hezbollah, he said: “To define victory and defeat always requires caution. We welcome the endurance of the Lebanese people in the face of Israel’s response that did not match the incident that took place.” He added: “Winning against yourself is always more difficult than winning against the enemy, and what Lebanon needs now is to win against itself.”
