Prince Al-Faisal makes press statement

Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Minister of Foreign Affairs, said that the Syrian crisis topped the political issues discussed during talks with visiting German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle during which the overall situation and the latest Arab and international efforts were reviewed. Prince Saud Al-Faisal added that the talks stressed the importance of focusing efforts toward an immediate and urgent stoppage of the war waged relentlessly by Syrian regime against its own people and implementing the Arab League plan and resolutions that have received wide international support and adopted by the UN General Assembly. He also pointed out to the importance of ensuring the delivery of urgent humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people and mobilizing the efforts of all international agencies and organizations to contribute to this matter. Following is the text of the press statement which was read by Prince Saud Al-Faisal at the outset of the joint press conference with his German counterpart in Riyadh today: "We held today an extensive and constructive talks where we reviewed the bilateral relations and ways of developing them in all areas to the benefit of our two countries," "Iran's nuclear program was among the topics discussed, as part of the ongoing efforts of Group (5 + 1), in which Germany is a member. The Kingdom supports these efforts to resolve the crisis peacefully, and hopes that Iran takes advantage of the deadline offered to it by the Group to halt escalation, begin serious negotiations with the Group, open its facilities to international inspection and remove all doubts about its nuclear program. We believe in Iran's right as well as the regional countries' rights in the peaceful use of nuclear energy in accordance with criteria and procedures of the International Energy Agency (IAEA) and under its supervision," "We also discussed the flagrant interference of Iran in the internal affairs of Arab countries and called on Iran to stop this interference ". "The Kingdom strongly condemns the continuing Israeli aggression on Gaza Strip and Israel's return to the policy of assassinations in flagrant violation of all ethical principles and international laws and norms. "The international community should bear its responsibilities to stop these Israeli policies of aggression and to protect the Palestinian people, especially in light of its inability to coerce Israel to choose peace, according to the rules of international legitimacy and resolutions and peace initiatives, including the Arab peace initiative,". "We also discussed the situation in Yemen in light of the peaceful transition of power and under the initiative of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and in this regard we discussed the Conference on Friends of Yemen to be hosted by Riyadh in April 2012, and no doubt, the achievement of security and stability in Yemen would create proper conditions for the international efforts to support development process. " "We reviewed the latest developments in Libya and emphasized the importance of maintaining security, stability, independence and sovereignty in the North African Arab country in light of its national unity and territorial integrity. Moreover, we tackled the Gulf-European relations with the hope that the next meeting of the Joint European-GCC Ministerial Council would give impetus and momentum to these relations in various aspects". For his part, the German foreign minister confirmed that his current visit to the Kingdom is a living proof of the strength of relations between the Republic of Germany and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, noting the significant economic development witnessed by the Kingdom in various aspects. He said: "The German Ministry of Foreign Affairs is concerned of developing several relationships, including the economy, and that the Kingdom is a member of Group 20 and member of the Arab League and it is a leader and the best proof is its participation in the peaceful transition in Yemen." The Minister added: "There are consultations between our two countries and we together benefit economically from that relations. The Kingdom also enjoys great potentials. I can cite the development of infrastructure, renewable energies, ??health, consulate exchanges, and education. Answering questions from journalists, the Saudi Foreign Minister confirmed that the Syrian regime's continuous attacks on its own people is a declared intention of the Syrian government to continue this assault on its people. "The only way for achieving a peaceful solution is that the Syrian regime opts to do a convincing step as the military solution is not appropriate and for this reason, the only way that can be followed is non-intervention, except for allowing the Syrian citizens to protect themselves without an opposition that can change the offensive mentality of the government that could take it as a pretext to continue the bloody assault on its people,", Prince Saud Al-Faisal said. He added that "If the Syrian President was confident with the support of his people and if the people fighting his regime are real terrorists, then he must accept the will of his people and allow the peaceful resolution and peaceful negotiations to be launched; What is happening in Syria cannot be in accordance with international law nor the Islamic one and in fact, what the regime in Syria is doing, is a massacre of the Syrian people. I believe that this could not be justified under any moral, political or religious considerations. It is wrong by all means. There is an active stance of almost semi-global against what is happening in Syria and we hope that the Syrian regime may feel that and change its course. " Prince Saud Al-Faisal continued saying, "There is no one against Syria or the Syrian regime, but we are against the actions of the regime; it is inhuman to see what we see and don't support the Syrians to defend themselves." Referring to the ongoing bloodshed in Syria, the German Foreign Minister said the operations orchestrating there have no legal or international justification. He said people will always have the right to express their views. At the same time, the world community should support and encourage them, a matter he said was discussed today at the bilateral level and yesterday in Cairo at the international level and tomorrow in New York. In reply to a question, Prince Saud Al-Faisal said he could not know the reason why China and Russia vetoed the UN Security Council resolution on Syria the other day. He urged the two superpowers to present an alternative proposal that would help achieve peace in this troubled country. He said Russia would never benefit from its current position as it, in fact, stands against the Syrian people. It seems that Russia plans only to appease the rulers of Syria, he added. He confirmed that Saudi Arabia enjoys good relations with the two superpowers who vetoed the UN Security Council's resolution yesterday. Rebuffing Russia's accusation of Saudi Arabia that it supports terrorists inside Syria, Prince Saud Al-Faisal said Saudi Arabia does not need to prove that it was against terrorism, asking the audience to choose which of Saudi Arabia and Syria is reputed to have accommodated multinational terrorists on its territories. Each terrorist group has established an office in Syria while Saudi Arabia continues its fight against terrorists, he stated. He called on all parties to remain optimistic about the situation in Syria as the status quo in Syria cannot survive. The Damascus regime looks consistent now but it is definite that anybody killed will weaken this regime. This current situation would continue until the existing entity collapses one time, he said adding that had it opted to survive, it should turn to its people and see why they are revolting. But if it gives its back to its people, it could never survive, he stated. For his part, the German Foreign Minister said Germany has three goals in the Middle East, ending of violence, delivering relief to the needy in Syria and transferring to a peaceful political solution as was the case of Yemen. We want a political solution in the present time and a support for the opposition as we did in Tunisia, he said. Now the Syrian regime is currently retreating. We encourage others who were once hesitant to revolt and join the revolution. We support the opposition because we want to draw their attention that if such brutal acts continue, the situation would aggravate.