| Voice of America | - |
Saudi Arabia says the world should not allow Iran and the militant group Hezbollah to prop up the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Saudi says 'cannot be silent' at Iran, Hezbollah role in Syria
Reuters – 6 hrs ago- View PhotoReuters/Reuters - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) is greeted by Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal upon arrival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia June 25, 2013. REUTERS/Jacquelyn Martin/Poo
Related Content
View PhotoU.S. Secretary of State John Kerry …
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia regards the involvement of Iran and Hezbollah in Syria's
civil war as dangerous and believes the rebels must be offered military
aid to defend themselves, the kingdom's foreign minister said on
Tuesday.
Speaking at a news conference with U.S. Secretary John Kerry in Jeddah, Prince Saud al-Faisal
added that Saudi Arabia "cannot be silent" about Iranian intervention
and called for a resolution to ban arms flows to the Syrian government.
"The kingdom calls for issuing
an unequivocal international resolution to halt the provision of arms to
the Syrian regime and states the illegitimacy of the regime," Prince Saud said.
Kerry has returned to the Middle East after a two-day visit to
India, and will continue efforts to strengthen the Syrian opposition and
revive peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.In Jeddah, Kerry is holding discussions with Prince Saud and Saudi Arabian intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who coordinates the kingdom's efforts to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The discussions include Washington's plans for providing direct military support to General Salim Idriss of the Supreme Military Council, the military wing of Syria's main civilian opposition group.
Prince Saud said the world's top
oil exporter "cannot be silent" at the intervention of Iran and
Hezbollah in the Syrian conflict and renewed calls to arm the opposition
and bar weapons sales to President Bashar al-Assad.
"The most dangerous development is the foreign participation,
represented by Hezbollah and other militias supported by the forces of
the Iranian Revolutionary Guard," said."There is no logic that allows Russia to publicly arm the Syrian regime and the foreign forces that support it," he added.
U.S. President Barack Obama
has said he will arm the rebels but has not disclosed what type of
assistance he will provide. Kerry is trying to ensure that the aid to
the rebels is properly coordinated among the allies, in part out of
concern that weapons could end up in the hands of extremist groups.
A meeting between Kerry and European and Arab counterparts in Doha
last week agreed to increase support for Syria's rebels although there
was no consensus among the foreign ministers over providing arms, with
Germany and Italy strongly opposed to the move.More than 93,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict, which began as a popular protest movement against President Bashar al-Assad but has descended into a civil war with sectarian overtones.
Nearly 1.7 million refugees have fled into neighboring countries, including Lebanon, where clashes between armed groups supporting opposing sides in Syria have fuelled fears of a lapse back into sectarian civil war.
Saudi Arabia has become more actively involved in the Syrian crisis in recent months, expanding the flow of weapons to the rebels to include anti-aircraft missiles.
(Reporting By Mahmoud Habboush and Lesley Wroughton, Editing by Angus McDowall and William Maclean)
end quote from:
Saudi says 'cannot be silent' at Iran, Hezbollah role in Syria
No comments:
Post a Comment