Joint Press Conference

Joint Press Conference HRH Prince Saud Al Faisal, Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia His Excellency Mohammad Benaissa Moroccan Foreign Minister Riyadh, Tuesday 11 Muharram 1428H corresponding to 30 January 2007

Minister Al Faisal:

In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

It is my pleasure to welcome His Excellency brother Mohamed Benaissa Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Kingdom of Morocco and His Excellency’s accompanying delegation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the tenth session of meetings of the Saudi-Moroccan Joint Committee.

I would like to express satisfaction with the work progress of this session the joint committee meetings and the recommendations made including development and boosting of mutual cooperation in cultural, educational, media, tourism, economic, commercial and investment fields. All of us are looking forward to continuation, and fostering of this cooperation and continuously driving it to wider horizons that reflect the level of our aspirations, the capabilities of our two countries and the strong relations size between the governments and peoples of the two brotherly countries.

I held bilateral talks with HE brother Mohamed Benaissa in which we discussed the developments of the situation in the region on all levels; primarily the urgent call made by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques upon the brothers in Palestine, for promptly halting of their infighting and to get together in the Holy House of God to examine existing disagreement issues by arbitration of reason and preference of the language of dialogue away from any third party interventions. We welcome the positive response of the Palestinian parties to this call, and hope rendering of this response into prompt stoppage of infighting, sparing of the Muslim Arab Palestinian blood, and hope that they hurry to hold the meeting before aggravation and escalation of the situation.

In this regard, I will not forget to laud the continuous efforts to the His Majesty King Muhammad VI, Chairman of Jerusalem Committee for maintenance of the cultural identity of the holy city and preservation of its status as a symbol of coexistence between various religions.

We also discussed the situation in Lebanese. We hope that the positive support of Paris III Conference would drive the brothers in Lebanon for calming down the disturbed situation, and return to the dialogue table again to handle issues of disagreement with wisdom and responsibility, and to save Lebanon the dangers of internal armed conflicts, in preservation of its national unity, independence, sovereignty and free will. Again, we call upon the Lebanese parties to respond to the initiative of the Arab League and its efforts that form a glimpse of hope under the tense situation prevailing in Lebanon. No doubt, the continuous bloodshed in Iraq that is still claiming more innocent lives without any religious or human restraint is a source of concern to us all. We are all hopes that the ongoing efforts yield their results by stopping security deterioration by dealing with all sources of violence, terrorism and armed militias. We hope for realization of national unity among all factions, races and political spectra of Iraqis on the principle of equality, evenness between all Iraqis, and preservation of independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of this great country with its history, civilization and original Arab heritage.

I welcome again His Excellency brother Foreign Minister of Morocco and His Excellency’s accompanying delegation, and leave the floor to His Excellency:

Minister Benaissa:

Thank you, Your Royal Highness, and dear brother, Prince Saudi Al-Faisal, Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In my turn, I would like to express my personal happiness and satisfaction, and the satisfaction of all my accompanying Moroccan delegation members with the outcome reached in this tenth session of the Moroccan-Saudi Joint Committee. In this occasion, I like to specially commend the strong, transparent, positive and constructive relations existent between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the complete understanding between the monarchs of the two Kingdoms; His Majesty King Mohamed VI and his brother the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.

As HRH has kindly said, and as it has been the habit when the two foreign ministers meet, it is a chance for talks. Praise to God, this practice is always taking place between the two brotherly countries on the issues of interest to us, and on the visions that guide our look unto the future.

We are living under complicated and difficult circumstances. Everybody knows it. I think the words I say are continuously used. Everybody speaks about the crucial condition and abundance of complexities. Things are clear anyway. We talked about all the issues mentioned by His Highness the Prince. Normally, as His Highness said, we hope that wisdom, accord, agreement and moderation prevail, and that fighting, terrorism and violence stop. Events proved with no doubt that violence does not lead to solution of issues but leads to complicating them, and that the sound right way to solve, or at least offer alternative options to problems and conflicts, is dialogue, negotiation, and the political will based on honesty, explicitness and exchange of interests.

Thank you Your Highness

Minister Al Faisal: Now, we’re ready to receive your questions

Question: Your Highness, The call of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques seems extremely significant and effective at this specific point of time. What is specifically expected by the Kingdom from the Palestinian factions when they respond to the King’s call? Your Excellency! Under the call of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques who represents the throbbing conscience of the nation, what are Morocco’s expectations of the method of Palestinian response to this royal call?

Minister Al-Faisal: The statement issued from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in the interview conducted by Al-Syassah [Kuwaiti daily] expresses the pain we all have suffered, particularly the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. He is known for his trueheartedness and tending towards the issues encountering the Arab and Islamic nation. This pain has not left him silent. Therefore, he pronounced what goes at the back of his mind, including annoyance at the infighting that started between the brothers. Therefore, he invited them and the invitation was received positively. We are waiting arrival of the Palestinian brothers. It is an unconditioned invitation and a transparent invitation. He wants them to get together at proximity of the Holy House of God to be candid and transparent to each other, and to reach to the solution that save them more tragedies and bloodshed, and to return the Palestinian path to closeness of ranks and unity of vision, so as to be able to move forward to liberation of land, ending conflict and reaching a peace which prosperity prevails on everybody, and Palestinian people in particular.

Minister Benaissa: I think the Palestinian factions responded positively to the call of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. As His Highness said, everybody is looking forward to the urgent appointment scheduled for their meeting at the Holy House of God. We believe that this call is a real new event in the history of relations, as well as in ways of boosting negotiation, outreach and dialogue. Particularly because the call of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques stems from his feeling of responsibility, and moral and political obligation toward the Arab and Islamic nation. Moreover, the call is a means of factions’ commitment by what they agree on. This is in itself a new event in history. We hope that the factions reach accord, get together and create the entities they are aspiring, and moving forward to establishment of the independent Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital.

Question: Your Highness, what do you expect from the forthcoming visit of the Russian President Valdimir Putin to Riyadh? What will be the main topics of discussion, especially those in the economic sphere and probably, if you can answer, what agreements are expected to be signed as a result of this visit?

Minister Al-Faisal: Of course, it is a visit, but everyone here looks very much forward to it especially the King. As you know during his visit to Russia, there was a great affinity established between the leadership between the two countries. We expect their meeting again will move the relations to a much higher level of coordination and cooperation in the various fields; political, economic and all other fields of human endeavor. There is an emissary in Moscow today to look at the arrangements that will be made, and to go over the preparations for the visit including the agreements that will be finished between the two countries that will help in pushing the economic and social relations between the two countries. So arrangements are being made, and I am sure the results of the visit will show that we have moved exponentially forward since the visit of the King to Russia. We are pleased with the arrangements that have been made so far. We look forward to return the hospitality that we met in Moscow during his visit to the Kingdom.

Question: It seems that the situation in Lebanon does not encourage optimism. Your Highness, I would like to ask you about results of the Saudi-Iranian contacts in the way of diffusing crisis in Lebanon. How do you comment on selection of Mr. Adel Al-Jubair as Saudi Ambassador to USA?

Minister Al-Faisal: On the second question " He [the ambassador] is dispatched from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, so my comment is I am supportive of this decision. As for the other question, I am not pessimistic like you in such matters. Many things have been done for Lebanon. The whole world showed its care for the stability of Lebanon. The gathering that took place in Paris is a real indicator of the international support accorded to Lebanon for its stability, and regaining its economic growth after the stumble it had. I want to be optimistic, not pessimistic, about the effect of it [Paris III Conference] on the Lebanese internal situation. We normally hope that dialogue prevails, ongoing and previous confrontation cease to be put out, and to be replaced with confrontations of the table of peaceful dialogue. Each problem has a solution if national interest is given preference to any other interest; and if Lebanon is saved from external meddling and the Lebanese are left to handle their affairs. About the Iranian-Saudi contacts, I cannot say more than what is said by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in Al-Syassah interview. He explained in detail the contacts made with Iran. Iran has expressed its desire to participate in unifying Muslims’ word, to observe the conditions of Muslims, and to strive to avert sedition. We hope that these are realized in actual steps on the ground that confirm these concepts and in brotherly Lebanon in particular.

Question: Your Royal Highness, there is a lot of expectation concerning the new approach towards reviving the peace process. Is there anything which you could add to those who are optimistic, and what to be optimistic of, what does the Kingdom had reached already and what do you expect to happen?

Minister Al-Faisal: First of all, we are expecting the [German] Chancellor soon here. This will be exactly one of the main issues that she will be talking about with the leadership here; how to revive the peace initiative. I will confirm what you said that I am optimistic. On one side, because I have, and I don’t want to say how long it’s been since I have been in this office, but this is the first time that I see consensus in the international community as strong as it is now, that this is the time for solving this problem that has stayed for too long, cost too much, and created so much havoc in the international community. So, that is room for optimism. I would be reinforced if this call of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques would lead to an establishment of a harmonious relation among the Palestinians. It would further increase the optimism if we can see change of mindset on the part of Israelis on how they approach the peace process. So, the overall conditions in the international community are ready to come forward and help and assist in reaching peace in the Middle East. But it is the antagonists who should be prepared to take the necessary steps in order to make this optimism realistic, because it is their responsibility. Question: Your Highness, the Palestinians declared reaching a ceasefire and halt of infighting this dawn. Your Highness sent the official invitation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to the Palestinian leaders yesterday. Will the Palestinian meeting be conducted within the coming two days after the ceasefire? Will the Kingdom have certain ideas that it will raise in this meeting? A question to H.E. Minister Benaissa: When will the Jerusalem Committee chaired by King Mohamed VI be convened under the continuous threat to the scared city?

Minister Al-Faisal: Actually, the invitation was accepted as you kindly said. The Palestinian brothers will inform us of the date. But as you remember the invitation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques stated that they meet without any external intervention. Consequently, nobody knows about the mysteries of the Palestinian issue more than those who are going to get together. I do not know what any other non-Palestinian could give in this regard. The issue, however, depends on the desire of the Palestinians themselves. We hope that their presence in these sanctuaries is a motivation to them to fear God in themselves and their people, and to do whatever they can to evade the looming threats. We welcome the decision of ceasefire.

Minister Benaissa: As regards convening of the Jerusalem Committee, the chair does not determine the date, or the occasion of the meeting. The committee through its members and through the meeting agenda identification determines these. King Mohamed VI unceasingly delivers the message on all changes introduced to the Arab and Islamic nature of Jerusalem city whether religiously, architecturally, or culturally, through writing, communication, talks and the missions of His Majesty in his capacity as Chairman of Jerusalem Committee. He interacts and outreaches with all influential powers whether in UN, Vatican or G8, as well as in the region. We are in constant talks with all Jerusalem Committee member states, and OIC members.

Question: Your Highness, there is a Saudi-Iranian working committee in Tehran to discuss the Lebanese file. Will this committee discuss only Lebanese file or there are other file such as the Iraqi one, and diffusing sedition between Sunni and Shiite sects? There are reports that a phone call made between the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Palestinian Premier for the first time, afterwards ceasefire was implemented, is this report true?

Minister Al-Faisal: The second question is untrue. The first question: Dialogue has started since the Iranian emissary visited the Kingdom. The objective of the visit is that they informed us of their desire to cooperate to ward threats off Muslims, particularly the sedition that threats to spread in the Islamic world between Sunni and Shiite sects. This attitude is welcome by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques because we harbor only good [intentions], friendship and desire for cooperation between all Islamic countries, particularly a neighboring and great country such as Iran. The principle we start thereof is that these principles will be a success unless followed with action. We are now waiting for action on the ground to emphasize the desire in this joint action. The emissary present currently in Iran is for studying what Iran can offer in this respect. Question: What do you expect from the Middle East quartet meeting in Washington, which starts on 2 February?

Minister Al-Faisal: We hope the meeting would restart the negotiating process again in order to establish, as its objective is, the two-state living side by side in harmony. But we hope the quartet will heed the lessons of the past that have proved that concentrating on side issue, and I do not mean to say the road map is a side issue, but it still is not the main issues of the Palestinian-Israeli strife. So we hope the quartet will concentrate on the main issues. I will give you an example. How long has it been since the quartet talked about Jerusalem? At least seven years have passed since we heard any talk about Jerusalem. How long has it been since they have talked about the borders between the two states? How long has it been since they talked about Palestinian refugees? These are the core issues that have to be dealt with in order for the incidental issues that are being dealt with by the road map, because if these issues are not tackled, even in talking about the road map, each side of the negotiator will have at the back of his mind these issues. And so their decision on even the side issues will be governed by what they think this will lead to in the main issue. So, it seems it is going in a roundabout manner if they do not tackle the main issues. So we hope that this time, they will tackle the main issues. And the road map can be a real road leading somewhere, not a road leading just nowhere.

Question: Does appointment of Mr. Adel Al-Jubair successor to Prince Turki Al-Faisal, being a Saudi Ambassador in USA, indicate a change in Saudi policy by appointing a non-royal family member to occupy this position in USA? And what is the future of Prince Turki Al-Faisal?

Minister Al-Faisal: An ambassador is appointed according to what is thought of his capability of success in his task, not according to whether he is from the royal family or does not belong to them. There is no differentiation between the two sides. There is no consideration in level of representation about who represents the Kingdom. Both represent the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in his respective place of service. Both will perform the same duties; and assume the same responsibilities to care for relations between the two countries.

Question: Your Highness, I am asking about the Arab summit to be hosted by Riyadh. Riyadh previously decided that the meeting will be at the seat of Arab League, but it backed and requested hosting the summit. What is the reason for this? What are the efforts exerted by Saudi Arabia currently to ensure non- absence of any Arab leader from the summit scheduled in March?

Minister Al-Faisal: I do not think the Kingdom backed but it asked that the summit to be held in Riyadh . Guaranteeing attendance is up to each president. The kingdom will exert all efforts to make attendance by everybody and will send invitations to all leaders, but the final decision on whether to attend or not will be up to the leaders themselves. The kingdom welcomes all, and will send invitations to all. Thank you.