INTERVIEW WITH PRINCE SAUD AL-FAISAL
SAUDI MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SAUDI FOREIGN MINISTRY

August 11, 2002

Excerpts

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MS. ROBERTS:  And in talking about cooperation with Saudi Arabia, of course one of the areas that is foremost in the minds of many Americans is the question of attacking Iraq. And you have been quoted as saying that you don’t want US troops using Saudi soil to stage their attacks on Iraq. Is that the case?

PRINCE SAUD:  Well, what we have said after the experiences that we’ve had with Iraq and you know, the country that was the most threatened by Iraq was Saudi Arabia, perhaps second only to Kuwait.  But we see that there is movement on the diplomatic front on this issue. And we think it is just only wise to give this diplomatic solution a chance before going to war and that is what we are asking the United States to do.

MS. ROBERTS:  But aside from the diplomatic solution, if, in fact, the United States goes to war, can this country put troops on your soil?

PRINCE SAUD:  Well, under the present circumstances, and with no proof that there is a threat imminent from Iraq, I don’t think Saudi Arabia will join in --

MS. ROBERTS:  You don’t think Saudi Arabia will join?

PRINCE SAUD: -- in the war. No, I don’t.

MS. ROBERTS:   And you know now that the United States has troops in smaller Gulf states that are amassing because they feel they can’t be on Saudi soil. Is that something that you think is useful for the Saudi-US relationship?

PRINCE SAUD:  No, the troops that are here are here for a purpose. They are for the no-fly zone in southern Iraq and they will remain in serving that purpose, of course.

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