WASHINGTON, 28 November 2007 — Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal held a one-hour briefing with the US press on Monday at the Saudi Embassy here. Attendance was limited to 25 print journalists, however several broadcast reporters — notably George Stephanopoulos from ABC and Andrea Mitchell from NBC — were also present and took handwritten notes.
The foreign minister addressed a range of issues, including the peace conference in Annapolis, Saudi-Israeli relations, Hamas, and the war in Iraq. Here is an edited transcript of the briefing:
Q: Why is Saudi Arabia taking part in this conference?
A: We are here for several reasons. First, because these are to be comprehensive meetings, not just a meeting between Palestinians and Israelis. Second, because we believe peace is necessary. Third, because of assurances from the US that it will use its full influence to bring about an agreement.
Q: How do you define “full influence?”
A: This means being fully interested in the negotiations. It means the commitment of the President to fully backing the negotiations.
Q: What outcome does Saudi Arabia seek from this conference?
A: We are looking for a commitment from the United States that it will do everything that can be done to get the parties to discuss the final status of Palestine.
In the past, Israel has used the issue of security as an excuse for not being fully engaged in the peace process. Lately, however, we have not heard much about the security issue from the Israelis.
This may be one reason why so many Arab leaders were willing to travel to Annapolis to attend this conference.
We are fully committed to the peace process, and we hope that all parties in these negotiations are equally committed to a future of peace.
Just look at the price that has been paid in the Middle East over the years in bloodshed and sacrifice — on both sides. Look at the economic opportunities that have been lost. Look at what has been spent — wasted — on armaments in the region.
This tragic situation has been allowed to go on for close to 60 years without anyone trying to stop it. If it were not for this, the Middle East could be one of the most stable and prosperous regions in the world.
Q: Is the king of Saudi Arabia confident in President Bush’s ability to move the peace process forward?
A: When the president says that he will use every resource to back this effort how can you not be convinced of his sincerity? But Arabs also must be convinced that there will be the breakthrough that they expect.
Q: Do the Palestinians and Israel intend to issue a joint statement document at the end of the conference?
A: There have been many documents that have come out, but most of them contain more brackets than words.
We hope that they will conclude the conference with the issuance of a joint declaration document that will include some sort of monitoring of the subsequent peace process.
Q: What are your thoughts on the legitimacy of Hamas as a political force in Palestine?
A: In Makkah, Hamas agreed to a cease-fire that would continue as long as peace talks continued. They formed a government of national unity. Unfortunately, the international community did not respect this government, only certain segments of it.
Recognition is not a process of reward. If you are working for peace, you must deal with the elements of peace. Undoubtedly, the government of national unity created by Hamas was an essential element in the process, yet it has been left out in the hinterlands and isolated. These events have created a feeling within Hamas that there was a conspiracy against them.
Q: Saudi Arabia has been spearheading a commission that seeks rapprochement between Hamas and Fatah. How is this effort progressing?
A: We have tried to bring them together. Work by our commission is ongoing. The two parties are continuing to converse in order to identify and resolve issues. They must recognize a government of national unity...and they must give up their militias.
Q: There will soon be a donors meeting in Paris to discuss the financial fate of the Palestinians. What will be Saudi Arabia’s contribution?
A: We will contribute and we will be the largest contributor.
The Palestinians are not primitive people, yet under Israeli occupation they are leading miserable, primitive lives. We are sensitive to all that and we will help with that.
Q: In an interview in this week’s Time magazine, you say that you have no intention of shaking the hand of the Israeli Prime Minister at the conference. Have you decided now to shake his hand, even out of civility?
A: I don’t think so. We have had handshakes from the Israelis in the past, and these were followed by attacks on the Palestinians.
If a hand is given to you and it is a fist, you don’t shake it. If the hand is truly opened in a show of peace, then you shake it.
I am not here to take part in a bit of diplomatic theater. I’m not here to imply that things are not topsy-turvy in Israel. Shaking hands will give the impression that things are regular between Saudi Arabia and Israel. This is a serious occasion and it should be taken seriously.
Q: Will Saudi Arabia seek to normalize relations with Israel?
A: We will make no steps until peace is established between Israel and the Palestinians.
Q: What are your thoughts on peace negotiations between Syria and Israel?
A: There is an old saying in the Middle East, “You can’t make war without Egypt, and you can’t make peace without Syria.”
Israel has already offered to pursue this discussion. I hope that not much time will pass until Israel and Syria resolve their issues. If they succeed, it will be better for the whole region.
Q: Americans have read with interest about the court case in Saudi Arabia where a woman was sentenced to 200 lashings. Is this punishment out of proportion to the crime?
A: These things sometimes happen. It was a bad judgment handed down by the Saudi legal system. In Saudi Arabia, the legal system is independent.
Bad legal judgments also sometimes occur in the United States, but no one vilifies the American people and the US government because of them.
With the Saudi case, the legal process is continuing. It may result in the decision being reversed.
Q: What do you think about the apparent success of the American military “surge” in Iraq?
A: We wish that the military surge in Iraq was complimented by a surge on the government’s commitment to a political solution. We wish that the Iraqis, in addition to being united in their opposition to terrorism, would also be united in their hopes for a united country.
