Posted on 04/01/2004 1:38:44 PM PST by yonif
Terrorism and the Middle East peace process topped the agenda at talks Thursday between Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, the Gulf kingdom's de facto ruler, and Austrian leaders, the Austrian presidency said.
Prince Abdullah, who is on a three-day state visit to Austria, told President Thomas Klestil and Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel that Islam was "a religion of peace, of love and of tolerance," the presidency said.
"Terrorists who spill blood are but a tiny minority sidelined for sins which have nothing to do with Islam and Muslims," he added.
At a press conference after bilateral meetings on Thursday, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told journalists: "Both sides expressed great concern about the practices of Israel in the occupied territories."
He singled out "targetted assassinations" for criticism, in a veiled reference to the assassination of Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin 10 days ago.
"These practices have scuttled the peace process. This was done in the hope of creating new realities and making new negotiations futile," he said.
Prince Saud said his country and Austria supported the US-backed "roadmap" for peace in the Middle East, but "both countries also agreed that there is a great chance for peace to succeed if there is a joint action between the Arab countries and the European Union".
He said he was confident that there would be a new Arab League summit after the collapse of a gathering in Tunis planned for March 29, and that the summit would renew peace proposals.
"This is a foregone conclusion that there will be a summit," he said.
The foreign minister also warned that international terrorism should not be linked to Islam.
"Terrorism cannot be ascribed to one nationality, one religion ... you have terrorists worldwide," he said, adding that terrorists were "crazy".
Klestil's office said the president raised the threat of terrorism during a banquet in the crown prince's honour and stressed that he had an important role to play in "looking for peaceful solutions" in the Middle East, especially within the framework of the Arab League.
Prince Abdullah is the author of a 2002 peace plan for the Middle East which has won the support of the Arab nations but not of Israel and the United States.
The presidency said Schuessel spoke to the crown prince about an EU decision to reinforce measures to combat terrorism in the wake of the March 11 attacks in Madrid.
Prince Abdullah runs the oil-rich kingdom's day-to-day affairs due to King Fahd's poor health.
On Thursday evening he began talks with Klestil and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who is in Vienna until Saturday for a UN meeting.
Prince Adbullah was due to leave Austria on Friday.
His visit coincided with a ministerial meeting of the 11-nation Organisation for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) which cut its oil production to 23.5 million barrels per day as from Thursday despite a price spike.
Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal predicted Thursday that oil prices are set to fall to a range of 25-28 dollars.
"We think the prices will continue to go down until they reach a range of 25 to 28 dollars," said the minister.
OPEC, of which Saudi Arabia is the main member as the world's largest oil exporter, has a target price range of 22-28 dollars per barrel.
It isn't a "small minority" but a whole ideological militant movement in the Arab and Islamic world. The Saudi Arabian regime, you are a leader of, is a terrorist regime which funds and supports Islamic terrorist groups like Hamas, and the PLO.
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Europe and Araby vs. Israel and the United States. A growing theme. Despite what the loony left tries to pin on GWB, the fact is that Europe is drifting ever more leftward of America and into the arms of her enemies. Sometimes I swear they have got to be morally blind as bats.
Oops! He forgot that this saying is trademarked and requires the ® mark.
No doubt they are a small minority. But the vast majority of the known terrorists have a hell of a lot to do with the Saudi Wahabbi sect which is financed by the Saudi Royal Family. This Prince better just speak for the death cult he and his relatives have spawned instead of speaking for all of Islam.
Islam is proving itself to be a religion that no rational person can trust.
Something about this comment smells like ass.
Or else we will kill you!!!
Dan
They really are exporting a Virus- Radical Islam is nihilistic. The 70 virgins thing is so retarded as to be absurd. I would never have imagined this barbarian invasion into our lives.
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