Saudi Arabia Has ‘No Ambitions In Yemen’
By Arab News
Saudi Arabia has no ambitions in Yemen and is working to find a political solution to the crisis in that country, said Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir in Riyadh on Monday.
Al-Jubeir made the comments at the ministry’s headquarters during a joint press conference with Murray McCully, foreign minister of New Zealand, at the end of his one-day visit to the Kingdom.
“We have no ambitions in Yemen … We are encouraging the Yemenis to find a political solution to the crisis and welcome the agreement of Yemeni parties to attend the meeting in Kuwait this month,” Al-Jubeir said in reference to the April 18 meeting.
“We hope their consultations and negotiations will ensure they reach a solution that leads to the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2216 on Yemen,” he said, and indicated that talks with the Houthis were making progress.
He said he had talks with McCully on various issues. “We discussed the Palestinian crisis and the two-state solution, the Syrian crisis, the situation in Yemen and attempts to reach a peaceful solution there, the Iranian intervention in the region’s affairs, and the fight against terrorism,” Al-Jubeir said.
McCully said he had fruitful talks with Al-Jubeir and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif on bilateral relations, regional issues, and fighting terrorism.
“We are looking to further boost our good relations with the Kingdom especially in trade and education. We want to see more Saudis studying in our country, which is very safe and provides a good educational atmosphere for young people to excel,” McCully said.
“People in Saudi Arabia think that we are a small distant country that is removed from the troubles in this region. But the truth of the matter is that terrorism is a problem for us,” he said.
“We are a nation of 4.5 million, but have up to 1 million traveling around the world at any time. So, some of our citizens were among the victims of the terror attacks in Bali and Mumbai. So, we want to do what we can to cooperate and assist in global efforts that would prevent terrorism from flourishing,” he said.
