Kerry: Relations with Saudi Arabia are 'close'

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Kerry: Relations with Saudi Arabia are 'close'



October 22nd, 2013 03:05 PM ET
By Jamie Crawford


Secretary of State John Kerry says relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia are strong despite reports the Saudis are looking to de-emphasize its alliance with Washington.

"I have great confidence that the United States and Saudi Arabia will continue to be the close and important friends and allies that we have been," Kerry told reporters on Tuesday in London on the sidelines of a conference about the international response to the civil war in Syria.

Kerry was responding to questions based on a report from Reuters that quoted Saudi Arabia's intelligence chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, telling European diplomats the kingdom would be making a "major shift" in relations with Washington over perceived inaction towards the carnage in Syria, and a possible rapprochement with Iran over its nuclear program.

The comments were noteworthy coming from Bandar, who served as the kingdom's ambassador to Washington for many years and enjoyed warm relations with both Democratic and Republican administrations.

Sunni Saudi Arabia is wary of any rise in influence by the Shiite theocracy of Iran across the Middle East, and has pushed behind the scenes for greater U.S. involvement in Syria, whose president Bashar al-Assad is propped up by the regime in Tehran.

The civil war in Syria is exacerbating sectarian tensions across the region with many analysts warning of a dangerous spill-over across Syria's borders.

"We know that the Saudis were obviously, you know, disappointed that the strike didn't take place," Kerry said in reference to the buildup to a U.S.-led strike on Syria over the regime's use of chemical weapons.

The drive for military action to punish al-Assad for alleged chemical weapons use was set aside when diplomatic efforts took root to get Syria to turn its chemical arms over to international control.

"It is our obligation to work closely with them as I am doing," Kerry said referencing multiple meetings he had on Monday with Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal in Paris. "The president asked me to come and have the conversations that we have had."

Kerry said he had a "very frank conversation" with Faisal about the concern over Iran's nuclear program, and reaffirmed President Barack Obama's commitment that the United States would never allow Iran to attain a nuclear weapon.

Saudi Arabia's concern over the international response to Syria was manifested earlier this week when the kingdom declined a rotating seat on the United Nations Security Council.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters Tuesday that was Riyadh's decision to make, and the despite certain "disagreements" between the two, the bilateral relationship would continue to move forward.

In his remarks, Kerry also said the United States and Syria were committed to working toward a restoration of a democratically elected government in Egypt, and shared common views on may other issues facing the Middle East.

"I think there is a clear understanding in our relationship going forward, and I have great confidence that the United States and Saudi Arabia will continue to be the close and important friends and allies that we have been," he said.

Kerry was scheduled to travel from London to Rome where he will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and discuss ongoing efforts to achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians.


CNN

Kerry holds urgent talks as US-Saudi rift deepens over Middle East policy

Secretary of state on charm offensive amid criticism from Riyadh that the US is not providing sufficient help to Syrian rebels

Dan Roberts in Washington
theguardian.com, Tuesday 22 October 2013 22.57 BST


A deepening diplomatic rift between Saudi Arabia and the US burst open on Tuesday after secretary of state John Kerry acknowledged that Washington's key strategic ally had serious misgivings about US foreign policy in the Middle East.

Kerry held urgent talks with his Saudi counterpart in Paris on Monday amid complaints from Riyadh that the US was not doing enough to help Sunni-dominated rebels in Syria following a decision not launch US military action.

"We know that the Saudis were obviously disappointed that the [Syria] strike didn't take place," Kerry told reporters in London on Tuesday.

"It is our obligation to work closely with them – as I am doing," he added, referring to multiple meetings he had on Monday with Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal. "The president asked me to come and have the conversations that we have had."

Kerry insisted relations remained fundamentally sound, but news of the meetings appears to confirm reports in the Wall Street Journal that the Saudis had threatened to scale back their regional co-operation with the US in protest at what it saw as a misguided Middle East strategy.

The Journal said Saudi Arabia's intelligence chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who is leading the kingdom's efforts to support rebels fighting Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, had invited diplomats to Jeddah over the weekend to voice Riyadh's frustration with the Obama administration and its regional policies.

Reuters also quoted Prince Bandar telling European diplomats that the kingdom would be making a "major shift" in relations with Washington over perceived inaction towards the conflict in Syria, and a possible rapprochement with Iran over its nuclear program.

Saudi Arabia is understood to be upset at perceived US weakness over Iran – and wants more aggressive steps taken to prevent Tehran's development of nuclear weapons technology – and Egypt, where the US has severed military ties with the new government in protest at crackdowns on demonstrators.

Speaking to reporters at the State Department daily briefing, US spokeswoman Marie Harf admitted all three issues were causing tension but also insisted "the fundamental relationship with the Saudis is a strong one".

"We we working together on some challenging issue,s and we share the same goals, whether it's ending the civil war on Syria, getting back to a democratic government in Egypt, preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons," said Harf.

"The question of how you get there all on these issues is what we're working through right now – with the Saudis and other international partners."

Harf said that a two-hour lunch between Kerry and the Saudi foreign minister remained "productive and enjoyable".

"They have a warm friendship, and even during moments of disagreement have always found ways to have an honest and open discussion," added Harf.

"Obviously we talked about some of the challenging issues that we want to confront together. We share the same goals – whether it's Syria, Egypt or Iran."

These are the latest signs that a US policy of rapprochement with Iran is causing friction with existing allies in the region, following similar concerns expressed by Israel.

Washington is also struggling to maintain good relations with France, Brazil, and Germany over separate arguments about surveillance by the National Security Agency.

But the row with Saudi Arabia threatens to destabilise one of the strongest diplomatic ties in Washington, based historically on mutual oil and security interests. Last week, Riyadh snubbed a US-backed offer to take a seat on the United Nations security council.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said this was "of course its own decision" but added that a seat on the UNSC "affords member states the opportunity to engage directly on issues of great importance, including issues like Syria, Iran, Egypt and the Middle East peace process."

He said the US will continue "close bilateral co-operation with Saudi Arabia on the host of shared challenges we face, including those issues that the security council takes up directly".

"We also have core relationship in national security areas that is very stable and important to US interests as well as Saudi interests," added Carney.


The Guardian

Kerry: Saudi Arabia would have ‘influence’ on Security Council

Tuesday, 22 October 2013
Last Update: Tuesday, 22 October 2013 KSA 08:42 - GMT 05:42




U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday that Saudi Arabia would have had more influence taking a seat at the U.N. Security Council.

Kerry held talks in Paris with Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal discussing Saudi Arabia’s rejection of a U.N. Security Council seat, Agence France-Presse reported.

“Secretary Kerry conveyed that while it is Saudi Arabia's decision to make, the U.S. values Saudi Arabia's leadership in the region and the international community, and a seat on the UNSC affords member states the opportunity to engage directly on these issues,” a senior State Department official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Kerry and Faisal have also discussed the Syrian conflict and Saudi Arabia’s concerns over signs of a tentative reconciliation between the U.S. and Iran, in addition to other regional questions during a two-hour lunch in Paris, where Kerry was meeting with Arab League officials, AFP reported.

On Friday, Saudi Arabia turned down a two-year seat at the Security Council citing the body’s “double standards” and its inaction over Syria’s conflict.

While the Saudi stance won praise from its Gulf Arab allies and Egypt, Arab states at the United Nations urged Riyadh on Saturday to reconsider its decision.


Al Arabiya

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[elis]

He just wants to deceive people. Qatar & KSA are strong members of the Israël/USA alliance

Those 2 countries are the main maker & backer of Al Qaeda infantry for the USA wars

KSA have already destroyed the holy places of Islam to make lavotaries, do you think they will stop killing muslims just like that?