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Jordan king, Iraqi, Saudi officials expected at Munich meet Saudi foreign minister defends policy at Munich meeting
(about 5 hours later)
MUNICH — Jordan’s King Abdullah, Iraq’s prime minister and Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister are among those expected at a conference opening in southern Germany, after diplomats agreed to work toward a temporary “cessation of hostilities” in Syria’s civil war. MUNICH — Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister on Friday defended his country’s foreign policy and its stance in Yemen and Syria, insisting that the kingdom has no ambitions beyond its borders.
The Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of foreign and defense policy leaders, runs Friday through Sunday. Syria is expected to loom large at this year’s event, which also features U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, among others. Since taking power last year, King Salman has led his country toward an aggressive new stance, confronting longtime regional rival Iran by leading a military coalition fighting Iranian-allied rebels in Yemen. Riyadh is also one of the main opponents of President Bashar Assad’s government in Syria.
Abdullah, whose country borders Syria and is home to large numbers of Syrian refugees, was to address the meeting Friday. He will be joined by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir. Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, also is expected to speak. Though few of Saudi Arabia’s allies have publicly criticized its policies, an intelligence analysis released by Germany’s BND spy agency in December cited concern over the kingdom’s “new impulsive policy of intervention.” It said it feared that Saudi Arabia’s ambitions to establish itself as a leader in the Arab world could damage the kingdom’s ties with its regional allies.
Ahead of the conference, diplomats agreed early Friday to seek a temporary “cessation of hostilities” in Syria’s civil war within a week, although efforts to secure a lasting cease-fire fell short. The meeting of the International Syria Support Group brought together foreign ministers from countries in the region and beyond with interests, in many cases conflicting ones, in the country’s crisis — including the U.S., Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia. Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said at a security conference in Munich Friday that Saudi Arabia is “a country that has no ambitions beyond its borders” and is guided by pragmatism. He spoke after joining foreign ministers from global and regional powers — including Iran — in agreeing to seek a temporary “cessation of hostilities” in Syria.
The ministers also sealed an agreement to “accelerate and expand” deliveries of humanitarian aid to besieged Syrian communities beginning this week. “We have dealt with the challenges in the region this year in ways that the world maybe is not used to, but that’s because frankly there is a vacuum, and if nobody’s willing to do something then the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its allies had to step in and do something,” al-Jubeir said.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the deal and stressed that “we have to stay focused on the fight against ISIL,” using an acronym for the Islamic State group. “We acted in Yemen to prevent a legitimate government from collapsing and the country being taken over by a radical militia allied with Iran and Hezbollah,” he added. “We did so in response to the request of the legitimate government. We have no intention of seizing one inch of Yemeni territory; we have no intention of trying to dominate Yemen.”
“We will welcome a more constructive role of Russia in the fight against ISIL,” Stoltenberg said, adding that Russian air strikes against opposition groups have “undermined the efforts to reach a negotiated political solution.” Al-Jubeir also insisted that Assad must go to make it possible to defeat the Islamic State group in Syria. He said his country is working for political change in order to remove “a man who is the single most effective magnet for extremists and terrorists in the region.” He added that “that’s our objective and we will achieve it.”
“Unless and until there is a change in Syria, Daesh will not be defeated in Syria,” al-Jubeir said, using the Arabic acronym for IS.
Al-Jubeir spoke after an appearance by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who said the deal on a temporary Syrian truce — which fell short of a lasting cease-fire — “must be successful, because the situation in Syria cannot continue as is.”
King Abdullah of Jordan echoed that sentiment, saying that the world must “act as one on the diplomatic front.”
“The killing in Syria has to stop if we are to move forward and find a political solution, one that protects Syria’s independence and integrity,” he said.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.