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| Arabia | |
| Saudi FM urges joint Arab strategy on Iran | |
| 2009-03-04 | |
| Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal called on Tuesday for a joint Arab strategy to deal with the "Iranian challenge" at a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in the Egyptian capital. "In order to cement Arab reconciliation we need a common vision for issues that concern Arab security and deal with the Iranian challenge," including its nuclear drive, he said. The relationship between Sunni-ruled Arab states in the Gulf, including oil powerhouse Saudi Arabia, and Shiite Iran has long been strained amid concern about Tehran's nuclear program.
Last Thursday, Faisal said he wanted to build "healthy" new ties with Syria, two days after his Damascus counterpart paid a landmark visit to Riyadh delivering a message from the Syrian president. "There will be other visits between Syria and Saudi Arabia," the prince told reporters following talks with his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner. "We hope for reconciliation between Syria and Saudi Arabia on healthy foundations," he said. "Divergences on Arab issues are behind us, buried," said the Saudi minister, who described Tuesday's visit by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem as "very positive." Ties between Damascus and Riyadh nosedived after the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, a Saudi citizen and protégé, in a bombing widely blamed on Syria but denied by Damascus. | |
| Posted by:Fred |