Saudi Arabia has emerged victorious in a conflict with rebels, saying the army has driven away the last infiltrators from its territory, an Arabic language daily said Saturday. King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, told the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Seyassah that his instructions to Saudi forces were “clear”, demanding operations were confined to Saudi territory without entering Yemen. The King told Al-Seyassah that his orders to the army were to “only drive away infiltrators and preserve the security and borders” of the Kingdom. “We are not a nation that interferes in other countries' affairs and do not want other countries to interfere in ours,” he said.Oil prices satisfactory The King also described oil prices as satisfactory. “We predicted an oil price of $75 to $80 per barrel at the beginning of the year, what we considered acceptable, and now it has reached this level,” the King told the Kuwaiti newspaper. “(We expect) the price will stabilize or increase marginally,” he added. King Abdullah also expressed confidence in the state of the Saudi economy, which he said had successfully managed to withstand the global financial crisis. “The effects of the crisis have not caused people to panic. Our sovereign wealth funds have not been affected and we are maintaining a rate of growth that is lower but remains positive,” he said. “We have experienced sustained economic activity, GDP is growing and inflation has slowed,” said the King.Jeddah floods The newspaper quoted the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques as saying that investigations are still underway to determine who was responsible for this disaster (Jeddah floods). “Yes, I had not been comfortable with what happened in Jeddah. We should be prepared to confront the floods and prevent any damage from their effects. That is the least of what should be the situation. The basic matter is that there should not be factors conducive to the occurrence of the disaster witnessed by Jeddah. We will not be lenient with anyone who has derelicted his duty. Jeddah floods have revealed what we should do in the future to improve the infrastructures in Jeddah and other Saudi cities.” – Reuters with input from SPA (See Full Interview on Nation's Page) __
