RIYADH – Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud Al-Faisal said Tuesday that the international community should allow Syrians to “defend themselves” against President Bashar Al-Assad's regime if it is unable to intervene on their behalf. “If the international community is not willing to do anything, then they must allow Syrians to defend themselves,” Prince Saud said during a joint press conference with Austrian Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Dr. Michael Spindelegger. “The (Syrian) regime's savage aggression demands allowing the people to do so,” he said. Prince Saud said there was “a need to unify the international vision toward the Syrian crisis,” adding that “a UN intervention was necessary to end the violence” that has killed over 60,000 people. “The real problem is in the Syrian regime that rejects a transfer of power or any peaceful solution,” the Saudi foreign minister said. Dr. Spindelegger also expressed concern over the Syrian crisis. Prince Saud said that there was a need to put the Mali crisis under the umbrella of the United Nations. It should also supervise the efforts to reach an agreement between the South and the North. Prince Saud said that he discussed with his Austrian counterpart the Arab-Israeli conflict. “I would like in this regard to value Austria's position in supporting the decision of the UN General Assembly to grant Palestine the status of nonmember observer state at the United Nations. This decision affirmed the position of the majority of the international community with regard to the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people under the Israeli policy of intransigence on the one hand and the failure of the UN Security Council to put its relevant resolutions into effect on the other.” The Iranian nuclear file was among the topics that was discussed in the meeting of the two foreign ministers. About Yemen, Prince Saud said: “We hope everyone will participate in the comprehensive national dialogue conference in March.” He commended the level of cultural cooperation between the Kingdom and Austria, which culminated in the establishment of the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Center for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue with the participation of Austria and Spain. Dr. Spindelegger hailed the bilateral relations binding the Kingdom and Austria. He stressed his country's keenness to further enhance these relations.– SG/SPA
