Syrian-Saudi joint committee convened in Damascus
Syria-Saudi Arabia, Politics, 6/16/1998

Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal and members of his accompanying delegation arrived in Damascus on Monday evening to preside over the Saudi side to the meetings of the Syrian-Saudi higher joint committee.

In an arrival statement to SANA, the Saudi FM said he hopes the Saudi-Syrian High Joint Committee meetings will be an example for inter-Arab relations. He noted that clearing Arab atmospheres is a collective responsibility. "This is time to face challenges confronting the Arab nation," the Saudi prince stated.

In a reply to a question about the results of efforts to convene an Arab summit conference, the Saudi FM said: "I believe the Arab summit is important if preparations are made in a good way."

Replying to a question on how he could see the convening of an Arab summit with the participation of Iraq and whether there is an Arab agreement on this point, Prince al-Faisal said: "The first point in convening this summit is to prepare for it," and "I believe we in Saudi Arabia look for this and study the issue to be raised in this summit, especially the peace process and the front-line states (Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinians), because the Arab stand in this context must concentrate on the Middle East peace process, the return of the occupied Arab territories and the restoration of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian Arab people."

Later in the day, the deliberations of the seventh course of Syrian-Saudi higher joint committee started, cochaired by Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa and his Saudi counterpart Saud al-Faisal. In an opening statement al-Sharaa said there are great responsibilities awaiting the Arab nation because Israel is ruled by an extremist government which looks for settlement and expansion and does not look for a just and comprehensive peace on the Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese tracks, except Israel's allegation that it wants to implement UN resolution 425.

Al-Sharaa added that this allegation has proved "false because the aim behind it is to void the resolution and create conditions not included in it." He added that the Syrian-Saudi High Joint Committee will examine issues of concern to the region and the Arab and Islamic nations, calling for a unified Arab stand to counter Israeli "arrogance and intransigence."

For his part, the Prince Saud said the committee meeting is a good chance to proceed with cooperation, consultation and coordination in all issues of interest "to our two sisterly countries and to the Arab and Islamic world alike so as to ensure the realization of common interests." He added that the meeting will further boost coordination and consultation of Arab issues, especially the Middle East peace process which he said has deteriorated due to the Israeli government's disregard of peace process principles and written documented pledges and commitments.

The Saudi FM called for confronting this matter to guarantee Arab solidarity and salvage the Arab nation's rights in compliance with international legitimacy resolutions and the land for peace formula. Prince al-Faisal also called on the US to actively move towards rescuing the Middle East peace process and to benefit from the European attitude to this end.

He also denied that he has discussed halting Jordanian normalization with Israel when he met with the Jordanian leadership, saying: "We did not talk on these matters, but we will discuss it in Damascus and we will exchange points of view about the methods of enhancing the peace process."

The committee approved the agenda and agreed to hold a meeting today before noon.

Previous Stories:
  Saudi FM arrives in Damascus today   (6/15/1998)
  Syrian president, Saudi crown prince discuss latest developments   (6/2/1998)
  Syrian President confers with Saudi crown prince   (6/1/1998)

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