Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud Al-Faisal confirmed on Monday the Kingdom's firm position in support of all Arab issues. Prince Saud Al-Faisal was speaking in a key address at the 130th session of the Arab Foreign Ministers which began at the headquarters of the Arab League in Cairo under his chairmanship, with the participation of the foreign ministers of 19 Arab countries and the Secretary General of Arab League Amr Mousa attending. “At the forefront of the challenges we face is the disintegration and division witnessed on the Palestinian front which led to fighting and bloodshed,” he said. “This situation is seriously threatening to liquidate the Palestinian cause from its origin and convert it from being a cause of people living under brutal occupation to a worse model of dividing the divided and fragmenting the fragmented. This model warns us of its ability to spread unless we all bear our responsibilities and collectively change our reality.” The Foreign Minister asserted that the Arab world has initiated an attempt to bridge the gap and overcome the divisions among the Palestinian brothers. “There were several initiatives and sincere efforts in this regard ranging from holy Makkah, Sana'a to Cairo which hosts the headquarters of the Arab League,” he said. “However, these initiatives have not yet succeeded because private interests as well as regional and international interventions encouraging division have unfortunately overcome the supreme Palestinian national reconciliation.” Prince Saud went on to say that “if we all agree on the danger of the Israeli continuous aggression against the Palestinian people, we have also to assert that the Palestinian inter-fighting is no less serious. Therefore, it is now time for the Arab countries to take a firm stand against whoever sheds Palestinian blood, deepens the Palestinian division and does not apply what has been agreed upon among the Palestinians.” He welcomed positive security developments in Iraq over the last period in confronting terrorism and militias, the growing capacity of national military institutions which began to assume responsibility of security in areas of Iraq and indicators of political movement. Prince Saud again welcomed Doha agreement between Lebanese leaderships patronized by Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani and distinguished efforts from the Arab League and its secretary general. He blessed the election of Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and formation of a national unity government in Lebanon. Prince Saud hailed the agreement between Lebanon and Syria to exchange diplomatic representation, demarcate borders and correct relations with each other. He reaffirmed supporting UN Security Council Resolutions No. 1757 and No. 1701 as well as calling for immediate Israeli withdrawal from Shebaa Farms region which Israel recognizes it as an occupied region. The Foreign Minster expressed belief that effective treatment of the problem of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction requires abandoning double standards. He also stressed the importance of the entire Middle East, including the Gulf region, to be free from nuclear weapons. Israel is the only state in the region that is heavily armed with all kinds of weapons of mass destruction and is absolutely not subject to any form of observation, he said. Prince Saud expressed support for the right of all states to peaceful use of nuclear energy; seriously taking into account Iran's commitments to fully and strictly respect its obligations towards the prevention of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; and hoping that this commitment practically appears in a way that ensures the achievement of a rapid and peaceful end to the problem of the Iranian nuclear program in a manner that avoids the region from devastating conflicts, absurd arms races and serious environmental risks.
