King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, decorates British Prime Minister David Cameron with the King Abdulaziz Sash of the First Class in Jeddah, Tuesday. – SPA Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH – The Syrian crisis and the Palestinian situation were the main focus of discussion between King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and British Prime Minister David Cameron here, Tuesday. The two leaders also discussed aspects of bilateral cooperation and ways of enhancing them in all fields. Cameron arrived in Jeddah Tuesday from Abu Dhabi on the second day of a three-day tour of the Gulf and the Middle East. Earlier in an interview, the British prime minister suggested that Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad could be allowed safe passage out of the country if that option would guarantee an end to the nation's civil war. Asked in the interview with Al Arabiya television if he would contemplate offering Assad an exit route, Cameron said the international community would consider anything “to get that man out of the country and to have a safe transition in Syria.” “I am certainly not offering him an exit plan to Britain, but if he wants to leave, he could leave, that could be arranged,” Cameron said. “I am very frustrated that we can't do more. This is an appalling slaughter that is taking place in our world today — 40,000 lives lost already and you can see, on your television screens, night after night, helicopters, airplanes belonging to the Assad regime pounding his own country and murdering his own people,” he said. However, he insisted that Britain would not consider providing weapons to Syria's fractured opposition — in part, because of concerns about the growing prominence of extremist groups. In London, officials said Cameron was not suggesting Assad could escape potential international prosecution if he were to be granted passage out of Syria. They also confirmed that the British leader was not holding talks with counterparts aimed at crafting an exit deal.
