PRESS BRIEFIING WITH PRINCE SAUD AL-FAISAL
SAUDI MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SAUDI FOREIGN MINISTRY

April 1, 2003

The Foreign Minister, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, reaffirmed the endeavours of the Kingdom to put an end to the war in Iraq at the earliest possible opportunity, and to promote a peaceful resolution of the crisis via the legitimate authority of the United Nations.

Speaking at a weekly press briefing, the Foreign Minister reiterated the Kingdom’s rejection of war and the military occupation of Iraq, and asserted the right of the Iraqi people to self-determination and independence. He expressed his hope that the current military campaign against Iraq would not damage the interests of the world community and detract attention from events in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.

In response to a question, he said that the lesson learnt from the past several days of fighting in Iraq is that a destructive war is not the only means of resolving the crisis, and that military hostilities should be halted and a peaceful resolution sought.

On the possibility of U.S. disregard of the Saudi proposal to halt the war, he said that the friendship between the Kingdom and the U.S. could be neglected, and that the Saudi initiatives would remain ineffective unless they were accepted by both warring parties. He said that the Saudi ideas presented to the Security Council could not be circulated for discussion unless the two parties involved agree to end military hostilities.

He denied that Saudi Arabia has withdrawn its acceptance that U.S. missiles be launched from Saudi territories, saying that there was no such acceptance from the outset. He said that the only facility that Prince Sultan air base provides is related to the no-fly zone in southern Iraq.

When asked whether the fall of some U.S. missiles on Saudi territories is an attempt to drag the Kingdom to war, Prince Saud said the Kingdom has officially filed a protest to the U.S. due to the dangers of a missile hitting a populated area.

On the U.S. scenarios for a post-Saddam era, Prince Saud said that the Saudi government has not seen an official U.S. statement in this regard, but could not see other than a government acknowledged by the Iraqi people and led by Iraqis.

When questioned on his call for President Saddam to step down to avert the evils of war in Iraq, Prince Saud expressed surprise that the media focused on a short parenthetical clause he gave during an interview with a foreign TV channel, which by no means constituted the main topic of the interview. “I was asked whether I had called for Saddam to step down. I said that there was a proposal presented to the Arab Summit by the United Arab Emirates in this regard. However, if the only thing remaining to resolve the situation in Iraq is a sacrifice from President Saddam Hussein to end the tragedy and given that he is asking all Iraqis to sacrifice their lives for their country, the least that can be expected is that he would do the same and sacrifice for his country. So, I did not call upon him to step down, and did not speak about a destination for his exile or the way he might leave office,” he said.

He denied the existence of any complications in Saudi-Yemeni relations, given the current high-level consultations between the two countries.