Crown Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense, holds talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry at the Royal Court at Al-Yamamah palace in Riyadh, Monday. Later the Crown Prince left Riyadh for Qatar. On arrival at the Doha airport, the Crown Prince was received by Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, Crown Prince of Qatar. – SPA RIYADH – The United States and Saudi Arabia Monday presented a united front on Iran and Syria. They warned Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad that they will boost support to rebels fighting to oust him unless he steps down and put Iran's leadership on notice that time is running out for a diplomatic resolution to concerns about its nuclear program. After a series of meetings in the Riyadh, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal told reporters at a joint news conference that Assad must understand that recent scud missile attacks would not be tolerated by the international community and that he had lost all claim to be Syria's legitimate leader. Prince Saud said Saudi Arabia could not ignore the brutality Assad is inflicting on his people, even after two years of escalating violence that has claimed 70,000 lives. He said that history had never seen a government use strategic missiles against its own people. “This cannot go on,” he said. “He has lost all authority.” “We can no longer continue our talks about extending only food and medical aid. A large number of people have lost their lives, and we have powers to have more engagements. Bashar Al-Assad has lost all legitimacy to govern. Nobody can deal with the situation in this way and then continue claiming to have the right to remain as the leader of the country,” he said. In his discussions with Kerry, Prince Saud said he had “stressed the importance of enabling the Syrian people to exercise its legitimate right to defend itself against the regime's killing machine.” He also decried the fact that the Assad continued to get weapons from “third parties.” “Saudi Arabia will do everything within its capacity, and we do believe that what is happening in Syria is a slaughter, a slaughter of innocents” he said. “We can't bring ourselves to remain quiet. Morally we have a duty.” Kerry said that the United States will continue to work with friends to empower the Syrian opposition to hopefully be able to bring about a peaceful resolution, but if not, to increase pressure on Assad. He added that Assad “is destroying his country — and his people in the process — to hold onto power that is not his anymore.” That meeting ended in an agreement for further expert-level discussions between the sides and both Prince Saud and Kerry said it was critical for Iran to accept offers made by the so-called “P5+1” group quickly. Kerry reminded the Iranians that President Barack Obama has vowed not to allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon and that he has kept all options, including military options, on the table to prevent that from happening. The window of opportunity for a diplomatic solution “cannot by definition remain open indefinitely,” Kerry said. “There is time to resolve this issue providing the Iranians are prepared to engage seriously on the P5+1 proposal. But talks will not go on for the sake of talks and talks cannot become an instrument for delay that will make the situation more dangerous,” he said. Prince Saud agreed: “We hope that the negotiations will result in putting an end to this problem rather than containing it.” He said, “The clock is ticking and negotiations cannot go on forever.” In a last-minute addition to his schedule, Kerry also saw Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Kerry's working lunch with Abbas came two weeks before the secretary is to accompany President Barack Obama to Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan to explore ways of restarting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. From Saudi Arabia, Kerry heads into the homestretch of his lengthy first official trip abroad, traveling next to the United Arab Emirates and then Qatar before returning to Washington Wednesday. – Agencies
