MADRID, 19 June 2007 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has cautioned the international community that the growing conflicts in the Middle East including those in Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon could explode into a global one, engulfing not only the region but also the whole world.
“My fears are similar to those of all sensible people that the continuation of all these conflicts will provoke an explosion that will not be restricted to the region, but will have global dimensions,” the king told Spain’s leading daily El Pais in an interview published yesterday prior to his arrival on a three-day official visit.
This is Abdullah’s first European tour since he became king in August 2005. He is the first Saudi king to visit Spain in 27 years. King Saud held talks with Gen. Francisco Franco in 1957 on his way back from the United States after a meeting with President Dwight Eisenhower.
Abdullah hopes to get European help to bring about a just and lasting Middle East peace settlement. Abdullah will also visit France, Poland, Jordan and Egypt during his current foreign tour.
Abdullah was given a warm welcome on arrival by King Juan Carlos of Spain, Queen Sophia and top officials.
Carlos later conferred on King Abdullah the Order of the Golden Fleece (Toison de Oro), the country’s highest honor, during a ceremony at the Pardo Palace. Abdullah thanked the Spanish king for the medal, which is one of the most ancient in Europe and was instituted in 1429 by Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy. The medal is reserved for kings, heads of state, and Spaniards of noble birth. Carlos received the King Abdul Aziz Medallion, the Kingdom’s top medal, in 1977.
“My current visit to Spain is aimed at strengthening bilateral relations. We attach many hopes to the honorable Spanish stand toward the Middle East issue and the peace process, which is closely linked with Madrid,” the king said in the El Pais interview.
In a statement on the occasion, Saudi Ambassador in Madrid Prince Saud ibn Naif said the two countries would “jointly call for peace in the Middle East”. Spain, which hosted a historic Middle East peace conference in 1991, wants the Palestinians to agree to a deployment of UN-sponsored international forces to monitor a cease-fire, a Spanish Foreign Ministry official said in comments published yesterday. “This is what is needed now and we will discuss this during King Abdullah’s visit and listen to the Saudi views and proposals,” the official was quoted as saying.
An Arab League summit in Riyadh this year relaunched a 2002 initiative offering Israel normal relations with Arab countries in return for its withdrawal from land occupied in 1967. It also calls for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital and for the return of Palestinian refugees.
Referring to the latest outbreak of internal Palestinian violence, King Abdullah said: “I feel profoundly hurt by what is happening in Palestine. We are in contact with all the parties involved within the Palestinian community.”
Saudi Arabia hosted a summit between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in February aimed at ending a previous bout of fighting between the two groups. The meeting in the holy city of Makkah ended with a deal on a Hamas-Fatah unity government. “The Middle East has suffered from one of the longest conflicts in contemporary history, the Israeli-Palestinian clash and the side effects including Israeli occupation of Arab lands,” Abdullah told El Pais. “Just as we are deploying enormous efforts to resolve these conflicts, we have additional instability in Iraq and Lebanon, and let’s not forget Darfur,” he pointed out.
Abdullah said the resolution of Middle Eastern conflicts would not only bring peace and stability to the region but also contribute to the international efforts to combat terrorism. “We have to eradicate international conflicts that provide a fertile ground for terrorists to exploit and promote their criminal plans, and our region is replete with such problems,” he added.
In the interview conducted in Morocco before his departure for Spain, Abdullah described the Iranian nuclear issue as an additional problem for the region. “Our position is based fundamentally on supporting the nonproliferation of nuclear arms in the region and in working to reach a peaceful solution to the Iranian dossier, far from tension and agitation,” the SPA quoted the king as telling the Spanish newspaper.
The Saudi leader defended every country’s right to possess nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in accordance with the criteria set by the International Atomic Energy Agency. He insisted that such criteria must be applied to all countries in the region without exception. The king said that his recent meetings with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were within a framework of meetings with regional leaders for consultation and finding peaceful solutions for its problems. “We discussed many regional issues such as the nuclear program, Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine and growing conflicts based on religious schools of thoughts (madahib). We look forward to the results of the talks being translated into reality.”
He emphasized the Kingdom’s efforts to stabilize the world oil market by ensuring adequate supplies. “Saudi Arabia being the largest producer and exporter wants to become a secure and stable source of energy for world markets... We consider the prosperity of the world part of our prosperity and our petroleum policy reflects this fact.”
He called for reinforcing the principle of mutual respect between various cultures, religions and faiths in order to ensure peaceful coexistence among nations. “I would like to commend the initiative taken by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to promote dialogue between cultures and encourage talks between the West and the Islamic world. These are constructive thoughts and we extend our full support to them.”
On the domestic front, Abdullah described the national dialogue forum as a major venue to exchange views on vital issues by people having different viewpoints. He said Saudi women had made tremendous progress matching with their counterparts in other parts of the world. “We have been creating a conducive atmosphere for the development of women within the framework of Islamic teachings and social traditions,” he said.
