Saudi Arabia on Sunday toughened the tone of its opposition to the International Criminal Court's decision to issue a war crimes indictment against Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Beshir. “It's a politically motivated decision, otherwise it would not have come at this particular time ... despite the counterproductive results that it will yield,” Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Foreign Minister, told reporters in Riyadh. “This decision will not lead to the stability of Sudan or solve the Darfur issue,” he added. “We stand by Sudan with our heart and soul.” Prince Saud stressed that the Kingdom stands by Sudan's sovereignty, stability, preservation of its security and territorial integrity. Prince Saud said the rest of the Arab leaders will be informed of the results of the Quartet summit which he hoped will be the basis for a new phase that will advance and develop joint Arab work. The foreign minister called on all Lebanese and Palestinian leaders to bear in mind that the enemy is not one of their homelands peoples but it is from abroad. Referring to his call to revive the joint Arab defense pact, Prince Saud said that this agreement is part of what has been introduced by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, to reform the work of the Arab League and the Arab summit in particular and seriousness and credibility to give its work. Prince Saud wondered why such an important institution of the Arab League did not held a meeting until now, stressing that the call is standing and hopefully will materialize.
