Saudi Arabia aims to maintain peace, resolve conflicts peacefully: King Salman

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz said during his first address to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday that the Kingdom is one of the founding members of the United Nations, and it has been committed to its purposes and principles, which aim to maintain international peace and security, resolve conflicts peacefully, respect sovereignty and independence, and non-interference in the internal affairs of countries.

King Salman added that the Kingdom continues to confront extremist ideology based on hatred and exclusion, and the practices of terrorist groups and sectarian militias that destroy people and nations.

King Salman said during his address to the General Assembly that Iran is a neighboring country and that Saudi Arabia hopes that initial talks with it will lead to tangible results to build confidence and pave the way for achieving the aspirations of the two nations’ peoples in relations of cooperation based on adherence to the principles and resolutions of international legitimacy, respect for sovereignty, and its cessation of support for terrorist groups and sectarian militias.

King Salman added that the Kingdom stresses the importance of making the Middle East region free of weapons of mass destruction, supports international efforts aimed at preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, and expresses its deep concern over Iranian steps that contradict its commitments and contradict what it always declares that its nuclear program is peaceful.

King Salman added that the peace initiative in Yemen, which Saudi Arabia presented last March, can end the conflict, sparing blood and putting an end to the suffering of the brotherly Yemeni people.

“Unfortunately, the terrorist Houthi militias still refuse peaceful solutions, and are betting on the military option to control more lands in Yemen,” the King added.

King Salman said that the Iran-backed Houthi militias use the suffering of the Yemeni people, their urgent need for humanitarian assistance, and the risks resulting from the deterioration of the situation, as bargaining chips and blackmail, and attack daily on civilian objects inside the Kingdom, and threaten international navigation and international energy supplies.

“The Kingdom reserves its legitimate right to defend itself in the face of attacks by ballistic missiles, drones, and booby-trapped boats, and categorically rejects any attempts to interfere in its internal affairs,” King Salman added.

King Salman added that Saudi Arabia stresses the importance of the international community standing firm before everyone who supports, sponsors, finances and harbors terrorist groups and sectarian militias or uses them as a means to spread chaos and destruction and extend hegemony and influence.

“The Kingdom’s foreign policy attaches great importance to consolidating security and stability, supporting dialog and peaceful solutions, and providing conditions that support development and achieve people’s aspirations for a better tomorrow, in the Middle East and the world at large,” King Salman added.

King Salman added that the Kingdom supports efforts aimed at a binding peaceful solution to the problem of the Renaissance Dam in a manner that preserves the water rights of Egypt and Sudan, and peaceful solutions under the auspices of the United Nations to the crises in Libya and Syria, and all efforts to achieve peace and stability in Afghanistan, and the aspirations of its people and guaranteeing their rights of all spectrums.

“We affirm that peace is the strategic option for the Middle East region, through a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue based on international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, in a manner that guarantees the right of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital,” the King added.

Published: 23 September ,2021: 03:48 AM GST