THE tragic conflict in Syria, which is entering its fifth year, has devolved into the worst humanitarian disaster of the current era. “Yet, the international community continues to be unable to save the Syrian people from the killing machine that is being operated by Bashar Al-Assad,” Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir has said. In a speech at the United Nations General Assembly Thursday, Al-Jubeir reiterated that there is no other political solution except the principles of the Geneva I agreement. “We see there is no way to end the Syrian crisis but only through a political solution aimed at ensuring the national, regional and unity of Syria, preservation of the Syrian state's civil and military institutions and the formation of a transitional council to rule, with no room for Bashar Al-Assad or anyone whose hands are stained with the blood of the Syrian people,” he said. “Saudi Arabia will continue to push for this solution, as it will remain at the forefront of countries supporting the Syrian people to meet the humanitarian needs and alleviate their suffering,” the Kingdom's foreign minister said. Saudi Arabia's highest diplomat opened his address by focusing on the Palestinian question. He noted that the Palestinian people deserve to live in dignity and urged action to that end that is in line with relevant Security Council resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative. Regarding the crisis in Yemen, Al-Jubeir said that military intervention in Yemen came at the request of the Yemeni government, and that the restoration of Aden and the return of the internationally recognized government of President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi was a major step in restoring stability. He stressed that the military action was the last option for the Kingdom and the coalition countries. The need for this, he said, arose after the Houthi rebels challenged the legitimacy of the Hadi government. Al-Jubeir further said that the goal of military operations in Yemen is to “reduce the risk of militias and the protection of our borders, and to find a political solution based on the initiative of GCC states, the outputs of the national dialogue and UN Security Council Resolution 2,216. As world leaders gathered in New York, the headlines that dominated were a meeting between US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The meeting came before Russia began using major air power in Syria, to try to defeat forces opposed to President Al-Assad. This move by Russia is not aligned with the ongoing air campaign involving a broad coalition of forces — including Saudi Arabia and the United States — to defeat Daesh (so-called IS). In a full packed week of numerous bilateral meetings, Al-Jubeir told the Saudi Gazette: “The Russian offer is really a non-starter. We remain committed to defeat Daesh and have a Syria that is free. And a Syria without President Assad.” Al-Jubier, who spent eight years as the Kingdom's Ambassador to the United States, was clear that the US-Saudi relationship remains “very strong and always will be.” Those words will be reassuring to US Secretary of State John Kerry who has led talks for the past year with Iran, resulting in the nuclear agreement between the once two arch rival countries. Al-Jubeir, who last visited Russia in June and described relations as “positive” back then, said that the current Russian military operations in Syria were not something he supported. It was back in February 2012 when Russia and China vetoed a UN resolution drafted by Saudi Arabia and backed by the West that Assad should step down. In his speech, Al-Jubeir reiterated that maintenance of international peace and security can only be reached by the achievement of justice and equality of peoples and nations as well as respect for the principles and provisions of international law. The Kingdom stressed its keenness to achieve the purposes of the Charter of the United Nations in maintaining the security and safety of the peoples of the world, and that it has been and still remains at the forefront of supporting countries to make the Middle East a zone free of nuclear weapons and all weapons of mass destruction. It also renewed its determination to eradicate the phenomenon of terrorism from its roots and fight it with its security and intellectual aspects as well as to dry its financial resources, denouncing strongly the terrorists' attempts to link their crimes with Islam, which calls for love, peace, tolerance and moderation. — With input from Agencies
