Saudi Arabia believes in the valuable role of dialogue in stimulating the spirit of understanding and goodwill, and in averting misunderstandings and animosity between nations and civilizations, said Prince Turki Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al-Kabeer, Deputy Foreign Minister for Multilateral Relations. Prince Turki said that the Makkah Document, which was proclaimed at the Global Islamic Dialogue Conference, stresses the necessity for communication between civilizations in order to promote the culture of dialogue, justice and equality among the different peoples and cultures. The Deputy Foreign Minister's remarks came in a speech he delivered before the Third Transatlantic Conference, which is being held in Berlin and organized by the Peace Research Institute in Frankfurt in cooperation with Friedrich Ebert Foundation. He also said that Iraq is an integral part of the Arab and Islamic worlds, adding that Saudi Arabia deals with all Iraqis on an equal basis, and supports all efforts to ensure Iraq's unity and sovereignty. He added that the Kingdom opposes sectarian or racial discrimination that leads to the division of the country or transform Iraq into an arena for regional and international schemes. The Prince said the Kingdom looks forward to a greater role for the United Nations in this regard, adding that the Kingdom reaffirmed the assumption of neighboring states of their responsibilities to work on unifying Iraq, help in discarding of sectarianism and not interfere in its domestic affairs. “The Arabs have chosen peace as a strategic option,” he said. “They exerted all-out efforts in search of a comprehensive and just settlement to this conflict. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stood for, and supported the peace process in the Middle East since its inception at the Madrid Conference of 1991 (between the Palestinians and Israel.)” __
