By NNN-KUNA
Buenos Aires : Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal has called on the Arab and South American regions to double their efforts to find comprehensive peace in the Middle East based on international legitimacy.
In his country’s capacity as the current president of the Arab Summit, Al-Faisal told the Arab and South American foreign ministers at their opening meetings Wednesday that the Arabs have been keen on attending all efforts towards peace between Israel and the Palestinians starting from the Madrid peace conference to the Annapolis meeting.
“The Arab side has been keen on attending all efforts aimed at establishing a just and comprehensive peace based on international legitimacy, and we, as Arabs, hope that Israel would respond positivley to these efforts,” he said.
He also expressed concern over the situation in Lebanon, saying that the latest and ongoing efforts by the Arab League secretary-general in that regard have so far not resulted in any compromise, because of what he called “outside influence that does not want to see political settlement in Lebanon.”
“Lebanon is still suffering from political vaccum. And the time has come for the Arabs and other regions to salvage and protect this country from those who are seeking to create instability for the country.”
“The efforts being made by the secretary-general has not achieved the results that we want to see because of foreign powers that does not want to see stability in Lebanon,” Al-Faisal said.
On Iraq, the Saudi foreign minister said despite security improvement, more efforts are necessary to enforce national conciliation based on equality and justice.
He called on Iran to respond positvely to the international requirements regarding its nuclear programme, and called on the Iranian government to work with the Arab countries in order to make the Middle East a region free of weapons of mass destruction.
The foreign ministers of the Arab region and the South American foreign ministers began their two-day meetings earlier Wednesday to discuss political and economic cooperation.