RIYADH, 15 February 2007 — Saudi Arabia said yesterday there were “no barriers” to atomic energy cooperation with Russia, following a visit made by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Saudi Arabia discussed this matter with the Secretariat General of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) during the Russian president’s visit,” said Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal at a press conference held here yesterday.
“The (Al-Jaber) GCC Summit held in Riyadh had mentioned that GCC countries would develop this (nuclear) energy in line with certain protocols,” he added.
He said that GCC countries would not develop nuclear weapons.
“Russia is a country with nuclear energy experience and cooperating with it in this field is similar to cooperation in other areas,” he added.
The foreign minister also confirmed that the Kingdom discussed potential arms deals with Russian officials.
“It depends on what arms the Kingdom needs from Russia and what Russia can provide,” he said, without elaborating.
The foreign minister said the Kingdom has engaged in talks with Iran regarding the developments in the Islamic world.
“They conveyed to us their fear of the Islamic world being divided into Sunni and Shiite,” he said. “We are worried about this and hope it does not happen.”
He said the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia did not take sides with any country in the Islamic world, but stressed at the same time, “that we are waiting for actions and deals and not just discussions” from the Iranian side.
Prince Saud said the Kingdom “strongly condemned” the diggings by the Israeli government near Al-Aqsa, Islam’s third holiest mosque. He said the project that the Israelis say is to renovate a bridge near the mosque that’s used by visitors (but critics say is part of Israel’s overall policy to alter the demographics of the Old City in its favor at the cost of Palestinian autonomy), is calculated “to provoke the feelings of Muslims all over the world.”
The foreign minister said he was thankful to God that the Kingdom had successfully brought together their Palestinian brethren in Makkah to form a unified national government.
“We hope that their agreement would find international support to lift the suffering of the Palestinian people and pave the way for the peace process to continue,” he said.
On the issue of Iraq, Prince Saud said that he had met with visiting Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari yesterday to discuss the latest developments in the country.
“We expressed our hope that security prevails in Iraq and that all sources of violence, terror, and armed militias are eliminated,” he said.
He also said he was hopeful that Iraqis would enjoy unity and prosperity under the constitution and equal distribution of wealth. He said the Kingdom was doing what it could to prevent illegal entry into Iraqi territory.
He also said the Kingdom “was exerting all efforts to ensure that Saudi prisoners in Iraq return home safely,” adding that the Saudi government would investigate the conditions under which prisoners were arrested and jailed.
The foreign minister said the Kingdom condemned the bus bomb in Beirut on Tuesday, a day before the commemoration of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
“Events have proven that his death was a great loss for Arabs and the Lebanese,” he commented. He called on all Lebanese political parties to sort out their differences and to embrace an accord that would restore peace and prosperity in the country.
