Differences with Syria are matter of past: Saud

PARIS: Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said differences with Syria are a matter of the past here yesterday. He made the statement at a joint press conference with his French counter part Bernard Kouchner here.

Quoting Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah's statement, Saud said, "We have dug a deep pit and buried our differences and will not return to past disputes but will look forward for future."

The prince hoped that the Palestinians will achieve reconciliation and the Egyptian initiative in Cairo would succeed, according to a statement from the Saudi Press Agency.

On the provocative statement on Bahrain by an Iranian adviser and the subsequent political developments, he said, it is not the practice of the Kingdom to stoke the fire that has already been put out. "The kingdom considers the statement of the Iranian interior minister and the Bahraini response to it as an end to the issue," the prince said.

He also hoped that the issue would not be raked up again, as it has become clear that such irresponsible statements do not benefit anyone or protect anybody's interest. But it could prove harmful and the first to be affected would be Iran's interest.

Saud also affirmed that any Israeli government should, if it seeks peace, to interact with Palestinians as human beings, and not as a people to be humiliated and killed. "If Israel wants real peace, it should coexist with Palestinians in peace. Or else, things would just worsen for all," he said.

On Afghanistan, Saud said, "What Afghanistan requires is peace, development, stability and not military action."