Prince Saud Al-Faisal: GCC Ministerial Meeting 'Fruitful'

Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Minister of Foreign Affairs, described as 'fruitful and constructive,' the outcome of the 122nd session of the Ministerial Council of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States, which concluded its deliberations here on Sunday evening.
'The Ministerial Council discussed the works of ministerial committees and draft resolutions to be submitted to the GCC leaders, as well as political developments at regional and Arab arenas,' Prince Saud said.
In a statement at a press conference here yesterday after the conclusion of the session, Prince Saud said, 'On the basis of a decision of the GCC Supreme Council, the proposal of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud for the transfer from cooperation stage to the state of Union, it topped the session's deliberations in the light of the results of the first meeting of the specialized commission formed by the GCC states to study the proposal in all its aspects'.
Prince Saud pointed out that the commission's report has reflected an interest in the transfer of the march of the GCC joint actions to the stage of the Union, within the framework of supporting the GCC objectives and the enhancement of the Council's capabilities, in response to developments in GCC states, changes at regional and international arenas and at the same time the achievement of the aspirations of GCC leaders and peoples to advance the process of integration among the GCC states to wider horizons in all fields.
Prince Saud Al-Faisal said, 'In this context, the Commission's report on its study to transfer the GCC to the stage of the Union has been keen to benefit from the experiences of other nations, without prejudice to the foundations and fundamentals on which the Gulf Cooperation Council was established, or compromising national characteristics of each state and its manifestations of sovereignty and independence. The specialized commission will continue its works and consultations to develop visions and ideas of the Union and to submit them to the GCC leaders.'
He said that the session also discussed the situation in Yemen in light of the transfer of power, noting that deliberations confirmed that the stability of the situation in Yemen will encourage the international community to assist Yemen, and enable it to overcome its ordeal.
Prince Saud Al-Faisal noted that the session also discussed the developments of the Syrian crisis, within the framework of the existing Arab and international efforts. 'We welcome the good intentions of these efforts, but unfortunately, they have not produced tangible results to stop the growing shedding of the blood of the Syrian people and to take immediate and decisive measures to stop the massacres within the general framework of the Arab League plan and the decisions of its Ministerial Council ,' he said.
Prince Saud indicated that the session also discussed 23rd Arab Summit to be held in Baghdad, adding that the deliberations reflected the keenness of the GCC states to participate in the Summit in commitment to the decision of the Arab League on rotating Summit.
With regard to the level of representation at the Summit, he said, 'That will depend on the extent of creating the appropriate conditions so that Baghdad Summit addresses key issues seriously and takes critical decisions on them, as there should be an expression of dissatisfaction over the positions of some Iraqi parties belonging to the government, which constitute an obvious interference in the internal affairs of the GCC states and a departure from diplomatic customs and traditions and previous agreements, including the intervention in Bahrain and Kuwait, while GCC states are keen to emphasize Iraq's national and regional unity, independence, sovereignty and not to interfere in its internal affairs.
Prince Saud Al-Faisal, then, answered reporters' questions. In reply to a question about his statement on the Syrian regime and that it should go away willy-nilly, and does this mean that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia welcomes the change of the Syrian regime, even by a military coup d'أ©tat , he said, ' Indeed, I have not said anything which has not been said by Syrians themselves. They do not want the regime and the regime insists on remaining a burden on the Syrian people. The Syrian people do not want the regime. There is no reason that imposes on him, leading to the killing of the people, to stay in power. Does the power have a value to sacrifice its compatriots in great numbers to remain in power. This is objectionable. If the desire of the Syrians to be armed to defend themselves, there is no right more powerful than a human being right to defend himself, his honor and properties. This is what the Syrians want. They do not ask for anything to attack anyone; they ask for self-defense. It is difficult to prevent anyone from defending himself against the oppression of Syrian forces against their compatriots, and we see what is happening in Syrian cities of Homs, Hama and others. In a military expression, all sites are pounded, this is only what you need in wars with bitterest enemies. Does a Syrian become an enemy to the government so he deserves the killing.'
On the next Arab summit to be held in Baghdad, Prince Saud Al-Faisal said, 'The problem in Baghdad is not a security factor as the press have suggested.
The problem is that there are major issues, if no good atmosphere is provided to tackle these fundamental problems, then, our presence or not, will have no value, but after all, we will not boycott the Summit.
The key issues are the relationship with Iran, its interference in the internal affairs of The Gulf Cooperation States and Iraq itself, the position towards Iranian nuclear weapons, the problem of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with Iran, and the problem of Russia in its position towards Syria. As agreed upon by political parties in Iraq, there must be a round-table meeting for the Iraqi (national) reconciliation. I hope when we come to Iraq, it will be united with all its sects and citizens, and this undoubtedly will create an appropriate atmosphere for the Summit to reach tangible results for Arab causes.'
Prince Saud Al-Faisal noted that the Arab Ministerial Council has suspended the membership of Syria at Arab meetings and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has not asked the Arab League or the Iraqi government for non-participation of Syria in the coming Arab summit in Baghdad.
Replying to a question on Russian attempts to send a high-level envoy for negotiations, and attempts with officials in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to reform its position on the crisis in Syria, Prince Saud Al-Faisal stressed that the crisis in Syria is an Arab problem and not merely a problem of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States, noting that Russians should go to the Arab League if they want dialogue or discuss their position, adding that the Kingdom has been disappointed with the Russian position.
In an answer to another question on the Russian position and the GCC position toward Russian invitation to meet with GCC officials, and if there is a possibility for a meeting with Russians in preparation for their approval of a resolution at United Nations Security Council, and what about new GCC actions with regard to the Syrian crisis in case of the faltering of these negotiations, Prince Saud said, 'The Russians have asked for a meeting in the framework of the Syrian crisis, and we told them, as I told you that differences between the two sides are wide, and therefore there is no common ground for understanding. We did not cut off our relationship with Russia. We have a dialogue with them and there will be future dialogues between us. Russia is one of five permanent members of United Nations Security Council. We wish that its position will always be in favor of right and justice. '
Replying to another question if there is a decisive stand of the GCC or the Arab League towards Russia, as happened during the meeting of Friends of Syria in Tunisia, the Prince replied, 'We hope if there are friends of Syria they should advise it to refrain from this policy, which has proved its ineffectiveness, nor to encourage it to stay on this track, as those who encourage Syria to stay on this track, will push it sooner or later to the abyss. We hope that Russia and others will provide advise the Syrians. We want to protect the Syrian people, their security and freedom in this framework . These principles are consistent with the principles of Russia, hoping that Russia will join us in trying to persuade Syria to refrain from its approach.'
In response to a question on a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis and if it is still on the table or there will be a military escalation in this case, Prince Saud Al-Faisal said if fighting, bleeding and aggression stop and detainees and prisoners are released, there will be great possibilities for dialogue and a political solution to the situation, saying, 'We will not go far away. There is a possibility that what happened in Yemen, can happen in Syria. Matters are on the table and I think Syrian brothers know this'
Replying to a question about linking events taking place in Syria with what has happened in Qatif and Bahrain, the Prince asked, 'Have you heard about massacres that have taken place in Qatif or anywhere in the Kingdom. How can you compare between this and that. There are rioters who do not represent our ethics. The rioters have cooperated with Iran and made rioting. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia does not distinguish between its citizens whatever might be their faith. We seek to calm the situation and if they have demands, the tracks of demands are well known. The state has provided education, infrastructures, schools and other requirements needed by Qatif and other cities.
Answering a question on the possibility of GCC states to cut off their ties with Iran because of what it is doing in the region, Prince Saud al-Faisal said, 'The severance of relations does not come at random. The severance of ties should have justifications and reasons, and I personally do not believe that the severance of ties is a positive action for the solution of issues''.
He added, 'I do not think what is there between us and Iran has resulted from something we are doing. What is between us and Iran is something resulted from what Iran is doing. We want to make it understand that GCC States do not wish any evil to Iran, but they wish only good for it.'