PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRINCE SAUD AL-FAISAL
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SAUDI MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

April 2, 2003

Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, at his weekly briefing in Riyadh yesterday, confirmed that the Kingdom had exerted every effort to halt the ongoing the war in Iraq, in order to give a chance to reason and wisdom and restore respect for the charter of the United Nations. He reiterated Saudi Arabia's utter rejection of military occupation of Iraq, asserting the Iraqi people's right to self-determination and independence; and expressed the hope that the current military campaign against Iraq would not distract the international community from what is happening in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.

Prince Saud commented that the lesson to be learned from the several days of fighting in Iraq is, war is not the only way to solve the problem and the best way is to stop the war and seek peaceful solutions to the crisis. He added, however, that even though the United States had not acted on the Saudi proposal to stop the war, the friendship between the two countries will survive.

As for the oil-for-food program given the current war, Prince Saud remarked that the program had been agreed upon by the UN Security Council before the current operation and should not be affected by occupation. On U.S. scenarios for a post-Saddam era, he commented that no official U.S. statement has been seen in this regard, but affirmed that the Kingdom can only recognize a government that is led by Iraqis and acknowledged by the Iraqi people. He refuted U.S. accusations that Syria is helping Iraq in the current war, saying there is no indication of any Syrian desire to intervene. Its political stand concerning Iraq, however, is something that must be understood internationally, because no Arab country can take a position against a brother Arab country.

Concerning a call for Saddam to step down in order to save Iraq from the evils of war, Prince Saud expressed surprise that the media had focused on such a short parenthetical phrase from his interview with a foreign TV channel, that was not at all the main issue of the discussion; adding that, in answer to a question on whether he had called for Saddam's stepping down, he had said there was a proposal in this regard presented to the Arab summit by the United Arab Emirates; and that he had remarked that if the only thing left to resolve the situation in Iraq were a sacrifice from President Saddam Hussein in order to end the tragedy, and since he himself is asking all Iraqis to sacrifice their lives for their country, then the least that can be expected is that he would do the same and make a sacrifice for his country. Prince Saud reiterated that he had not specifically called on Saddam to step down, nor did he mention any destination for his exile, nor the procedure for him to leave office.

Concerning the suggestion from the Egyptian leadership that a new Arab body be formed to replace the League of Arab States, Prince Saud said there is a need to strengthen the Arab framework, and referred to the paper prepared by Crown Prince Abdullah, discussion of which the Crown Prince had requested be postponed until the next Arab Summit in order for it to be thoroughly studied. This paper proposes improvement and reform in the Arab situation. Prince Saud then commented that the Arab League is a means of linking all Arabs; if there are problems with Arab cooperation, it is not the fault of the organization.