SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi foreign minister says has invited Iranian counterpart to visit

Record ID: 189469

  • Title: SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi foreign minister says has invited Iranian counterpart to visit
  • Date: 13th May 2014
  • Summary: RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA (MAY 13 ,2014) (REUTERS ) VARIOUS OF FOREIGN MINISTERS FROM CENTRAL ASIA AND ARAB WORLD POSING FOR FAMILY PHOTO DURING ECONOMIC FORUM NEWS CONFERENCE GIVEN BY SAUDI FOREIGN MINISTER PRINCE SAUD AL-FAISAL, FINANCE MINISTER IBRAHIM ALASSAF AND ARAB LEAGUE SECRETARY GENERAL NABIL ELARABY REPORTER ASKING QUESTION TO SAUDI FOREIGN MINISTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) SAUDI FOREIGN MINISTER, PRINCE SAUD AL-FAISAL, SAYING: "Well there has been an expression of a desire to renew the communication between our two countries expressed by Iranian officials, by the president and by the foreign minister. And we sent him an invitation, the foreign minister, to visit Saudi Arabia. But this intention to visit has not become a fact. He hasn't visited so far. But any time that he sees fit to come, we are willing to receive him. Iran is a neighbour, we have relations with them, and we will negotiate with them. We will talk with them in the hope that if there are any differences, they will be settled to the satisfaction of both countries, and our hope is that Iran becomes part of the effort to make the region as safe and as prosperous as possible, and not become part of the problem of the insecurity of the region." REPORTERS LISTENING SPEAKERS LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 28th May 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Saudi Arabia
  • Country: Saudi Arabia
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAASVJT0XT7YOPVMETQK44HTK8Y
  • Story Text: Saudi Arabia has invited Iran's foreign minister to visit, Riyadh's counterpart said on Tuesday (May 13), hinting at a cautious thaw between the Gulf's two biggest, most bitter rivals since Tehran reached an interim nuclear deal with world powers.
    Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has visited most of Saudi Arabia's Gulf Arab allies including Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates since the nuclear pact, which eased some Gulf Arab worries, but has not been to Riyadh.
    Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told a news conference that Zarif had been given an invitation to the kingdom but had not yet responded. He did not say when Riyadh issued the invitation.
    "There has been an expression of a desire to renew the communication between our two countries expressed by Iranian officials, by the president and by the foreign minister.
    And we sent him an invitation, the foreign minister, to visit Saudi Arabia. But this intention to visit has not become a fact. He hasn't visited so far. But any time that he sees fit to come, we are willing to receive him," Prince Saud said in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
    Relations between Iran and most of its Gulf Arab neighbours have been improving since the biggest Shi'ite Muslim power agreed preliminary limits on its nuclear activity last year, but ties with Sunni Muslim arch-rival Saudi Arabia remained chilly.
    Gulf Arab states, like Western powers and Israel, fear Iran has been using its declared civilian nuclear energy programme as a front to covertly develop an atomic bomb capability, a charge Tehran denies.
    Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have also accused Iran of trying to meddle in their internal affairs by stirring up their Shi'ite communities to revolt. Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful and denies interference in these countries' affairs.
    But since taking office in August, moderate President Hassan Rouhani has overseen a conciliatory shift in Iran's hitherto confrontational foreign relations, culminating in the November 24 interim nuclear deal.
    "Iran is a neighbour, we have relations with them, and we will negotiate with them. We will talk with them in the hope that if there are any differences, they will be settled to the satisfaction of both countries, and our hope is that Iran becomes part of the effort to make the region as safe and as prosperous as possible, and not become part of the problem of the insecurity of the region," said Prince Saud.
    But ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia are complicated by the fact that the two back opposing parties in Syria's civil war. Riyadh is a leading supporter of rebels fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is a close ally of Tehran.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register