Local Editor
18-12-2013 | 09:21
After the series of harsh stances, the Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, wrote in a commentary in the New York Times that "the West's policies on Iran and Syria are a dangerous gamble.
He further warned that his kingdom and Saudi Arabia is prepared to act on its own to safeguard security in the region."We believe that many of the West's policies on both Iran and Syria risk the stability and security of the Middle East," the ambassador to Britain wrote in a commentary in the New York Times.
"This is a dangerous gamble, about which we cannot remain silent, and will not stand idly by," he wrote.
The bluntly-worded warning was the latest in a series of public statements by senior Saudi figures expressing displeasure with US and Western diplomatic initiatives towards Syria and Iran.
Citing Iran's backing for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, he said "rather than challenging the Syrian and Iranian governments, some of our Western partners have refused to take much-needed action against them.
"The West has allowed one regime to survive and the other to continue its program for uranium enrichment, with all the consequent dangers of weaponization," he wrote, and noted that "
Moreover, he accused the Islamic Republic of financing and training what he called "militias in Iraq, Hizbullah "terrorists" in Lebanon and militants in Yemen and Bahrain."
In parallel, he viewed that the "diplomatic talks with Iran may dilute the West's will to confront both Damascus and Tehran."
"What price is peace though, when it is made with such regimes?" Bin Nawaf
As a result, Saudi Arabia "has no choice but to become more assertive in international affairs: more determined than ever to stand up for the genuine stability our region so desperately needs."
The Gulf monarchy had "global responsibilities," both political and economic, and he said: "We will act to fulfill these responsibilities, with or without the support of our Western partners."
In a thinly veiled jab at US President Barack Obama, the Saudi ambassador said that "for all their talk of red lines, when it counted, our partners have seemed all too ready to concede our safety and risk our region's stability."
The Saudi ambassador slammed the West for its reluctance to offer decisive help to Syrian armed groups, vowing to continue support for the Free Syrian Army and the "Syrian opposition."
Source: New York Times, Edited by website team
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