Ben Farhan: There is no such thing as "Nato Arabic" or a Gulf alliance with Israel
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan stressed that there is no such thing as "NATO Arabic" and noted that there is no talk of a Gulf alliance with Israel.
At a press conference on the sidelines of the Jeddah Summit on Security and Development on Saturday, Ben Farhan said that "there was no talk of a Gulf alliance with Israel, though.. Saudi Arabia has not participated in any talks ".
He explained that
"there has never been any military or technical cooperation with Israel, I don't know where this news came from, nor has it been raised or discussed at or before the summit."
"There is no such thing as NATO Arabic
which is not up for grabs, but almost five years ago Saudi Arabia put forward the formation of a common Arab defence system."
The Jeddah Summit
attended by leaders of the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and the GCC, focused on partnership with the United States.
- On the tense relations between Washington
- and Riyadh, Ben Farhan said that
- "our partnership with the United States is old existing and ongoing."
He added that
"it became clear that whoever wanted to have a global agenda should talk to Saudi Arabia," noting that "the region has matured as we developed our relations with many countries."
Bin Farhan asserts that the opening of Saudi Arabian airspace is not linked to normalization
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan stressed that the Kingdom's decision to lift restrictions on all airlines to use their airspace is not a sign of pushing for a future relationship with Israel.
- This has nothing to do with diplomatic relations with Israel"
- Ben Farhan told a press conference in Jeddah on Saturday.
- He added that "in no case is it a prelude to further steps".
On 15 July
the Saudi Civil Aviation Authority announced the opening of Saudi airspace to all air tankers that meet the requirements of crossing Saudi airspace.
In a statement on Twitter, the Authority said:
"As part of Saudi Arabia's desire to fulfil its obligations under the Chicago Convention 1944 requiring no distinction between civilian aircraft used for international air navigation s position as a global platform connecting the three continents and promoting international air connectivity, The General Authority for Civil Aviation declares that it is decided to open the Kingdom's airspace to all air carriers that meet the requirements of the Authority to cross the airspace. "
Saudi Foreign Minister: Saudi Arabia's hand extended to reach normal relations with Iran neighbour
On Saturday, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud held a press conference after the Jeddah Summit on Security and Development and U.S. President Joe Biden's visit to the Kingdom.
He stressed that the Kingdom's hand is extended to Iran and we are keen to reach normal relations with it, which is linked to finding solutions to our sources of concern.
He explained that
the talks with Iran were positive but had not yet yielded results, and noted that there had been no messages from Iran to the Jeddah summit.
The Minister stated that dialogue and diplomacy were the only solution to Iran's nuclear programme.
The Jeddah Summit had focused on partnership with the United States and had included a number of outputs that we hope will have a positive reflection on the establishment of security and support for the region's development.
He stressed that
- there was no such thing as "NATO Arabic",
- noting that no military or technical cooperation
- with Israel had been put forward or discussed.
He reiterated that there was no discussion of
a "defensive alliance" with Israel.
He added:
"We did not discuss oil production at the Jeddah Summit. OPEC
- continues its work to assess markets and what they need. "
- He stressed that OPEC
- is following up on market conditions and OPEC
- production discussions within the system.
The United States
remains the Kingdom's primary strategic partner, stressing that "the Kingdom's partnership with it is long-standing and the agreements that Riyadh has signed with Washington have not come between one day and one night."
He stressed that this summit demonstrated the maturity of joint Arab action and the words of the leaders affirmed that the States of the region knew what they wanted and did not wait for anyone to achieve that.
He addressed the decision to open Saudi civil aviation airspace, stressing that that decision "does not mean any preparation for a subsequent decision."
On the Yemeni crisis
he said: "We are working earnestly to reach a comprehensive ceasefire in Yemen, and the Houthis must understand that Yemen's interest is in peace and stability."
"Iranian weapons are part of the reasons for the continuation of the conflict in Yemen."
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