Bandar stresses firm relations with the USA: Do not believe what you read

The Saudi ambassador to the USA, Prince Bandar Bin Sultan, on Wednesday said that relations between the US and Saudi Arabia have not been weakened following the attacks of September 2001 "rather reinforced, because the relations itself was the target of the attack."

He indicated that cooperation exists between the two countries and that "many things are taking place but are not known to the public." But he abstained from defining these things, rather remarked that they relate to security and military cooperation between the two countries.

Bandar added in a speech he delivered before a conference for the heads of municipalities in the USA held in Washington that the "health" of the American economy is in the interests of Saudi Arabia, and that therefore Riyadh had several days ago convinced OPEC to increase its oil production by 1.5 million barrels a day "in order to guarantee alleviation of the consequences of the absence of the Venezuela oil." Bandar continued that "My government is ready to do more than that during the next two or three weeks, if we see that oil prices have not decreased to beyond 28 dollars per barrel."

However, an official in OPEC stressed yesterday that the statements made by Prince Bandar do not reflect the position of the organization which has "already decided to increase its production as from the first of the coming February." Bandar in his answers defended questions that doubted the credibility of Riyadh's co-operation with Washington in fighting terrorism or in helping the US in a likely was against Iraq. He said that Saudi Arabia was working with intensive efforts before the September attacks with the American and international security departments. He repeated that he can not disclose this information.

Bandar criticized the tolerance of the western states with Islamists opposition who resort to it. He added that years before "bad people" did not go to places like Iran, Libya and Syria, rather resorted to cities like London, Berlin, Paris and sometimes to Washington. He added that when Saudi Arabia used to ask these government for support to challenge them, the governments of these countries used to say "they are opposition and they are permitted to express their views freely."

On the contradictory reports on whether Saudi Arabia will permit the use of its airspace to attack Iraq, Bandar said " do not believe what you read," stressing that the two governments "are happy over their cooperation."