Okaz/Saudi Gazette HAFR AL-BATIN — Saudi Arabia's security is a red line which nobody should dare to cross, Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir has said describing his relationship with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman as strong, cordial and excellent. "The security of the Kingdom comes before the security of Sudan because it means the security and safety of the Two Holy Mosques," he said. In an exclusive interview with Okaz, Bashir said his country's ties with the Kingdom are old, deep-rooted and distinguished. He revealed that a number of Saudi terrorists were caught in Sudan and handed over to the Kingdom. He could not recall their exact number but said every time a small group of them comes to Sudan, they are caught and handed over to the Saudi authorities. He condemned Iran's expansionist agenda and said the Kingdom had drew his attention to this fact. "When we came to realize this, we did not hesitate to kick Iran out of our country," he said. The Sudanese president said he did not hesitate to join the Operation Decisive Storm led by the Kingdom because if the the Houthis took over Yemen, they would not stop there. He said the Houthi aggression against the Kingdom is old dating back to the reign of the late King Abdullah. "At that time, I contacted the Kingdom and informed them about our readiness to join in its defense so when we were asked to join the Decisive Storm we never looked back," he said. Bashir stressed that the Syrian crisis could only be resolved politically. He, however, warned that President Bashar Al-Assad would continue to fight until the last man. "This is a sectarian minority which represents not more than two percent of the Syrian population. This will give it the drive to continue fighting until the last drop of blood," he said. He denounced Hezbollah's intervention in Syrian and said they would continue to defend the followers of their religious sect anywhere any time. Bashir, who was in the Kingdom to attend the North Thunder final drill, described these forces which were made up of 20 countries, as professional. "The North Thunder has surpassed the Arab component to the Islamic one. It represents a clear message to the enemies of the Ummah," he said. Al-Bashir denied the existence of the Al-Qaeda or Daesh in his country, but admitted that they do have supporters especially among the young men and women. "We hold these young men in safe places and provide them with advice through young scholars. We have succeeded in reversing the devaint beliefs of about 80 percent of them," he said. Bashir said he had no fears of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which is after him for genocidal charges and added that he does not recognize it. He has defied the court by traveling widely throughout the world. He was recently in Indonesia for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit. Asked if his country had applied to join the GCC, the Sudanese president said they wished so much for this particularly that the country's relationships with all the GCC countries and peoples are excellent. He denied any improvement in his country's ties with the US but said the Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates are making efforts toward this end.
