WASHINGTON, 19 May 2006 - Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal expressed optimism that the Iranian nuclear issue would be resolved through diplomatic channels, Saudi Press Agency said. Prince Saud, who is currently heading a delegation to the United States to participate in a Saudi-American joint conference for strategic dialogues, addressed the media in Washington on Wednesday.
Yesterday, Prince Saud and his US counterpart Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice co-chaired a meeting of the Saudi American Strategic Dialogue that began at Stateside yesterday. The meeting is scheduled to discuss aspects of strategic cooperation in areas of politics, economy, military, security, culture, science etc.
"The GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries will send the foreign minister of Oman to Iran to discuss the issue with the authorities there," said Prince Saud referring to the Iranian nuclear standoff. He said it was not proper to sit idle and watch the situation deteriorate.
Prince Saud expressed the hope that Iran would join the Kingdom and other countries in the Gulf in their efforts to make the region a nuclear-weapon free zone. He also hoped that Iran would play a positive role in maintaining the territorial integrity and stability of Iraq.
To a question over the Palestine issue Prince Saud said the Kingdom believed that the policy of cutting off aid to Palestinians was wrong because "it would only promote extremism and discourage people backing the peace process."
Prince Saud said the quartet for peace in the Middle East at its last meeting in Brussels had agreed on a mechanism to take necessary measures to provide aid to the Palestinians.
"We hope that effective and immediate steps would be taken to help the needy people in Palestine, although we do not know its details," the foreign minister said.
The prince also stressed the importance of continuing dialogue with the Palestinian Authority and taking advantage of the willingness of the Palestinians to hold a cease-fire till the peace process continues. The prince warned against any delay in this matter as it could lead to their taking a hard-line stand that would be difficult to change. The prince expressed his concern over Israel's unilateral plan to withdraw from some settlements in the West Bank as it would only lead to diverting the attention from the road map for peace.
When asked about the Saudi prisoners in Guantanamo, the prince said the US would release 16 Saudi prisoners shortly. The Kingdom will conduct investigation about their charges when they arrive in the country. Those who are not involved in any crime will be freed and others will be put on trial, the prince said.
