King Salman stresses the need to combat terrorism

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz, stressed the need to find a political solution to the Syrian crisis, the need for humanitarian aid to reach those affected in Yemen and end their suffering. 

"The Syrian people are being killed and we must find a political solution to the crisis. We must maintain the security and stability of Yemen and find a political solution based on the Gulf initiative and the international resolutions," Saudi king said in a speech delivered Wednesday at the opening session of the 28th Arab summit in the Dead Sea region of Jordan.

Regarding the war in Syria, King Salman said that the Syrian people are being killed and there should be an immediate peaceful solution to the crisis. About Libya, the King called on the parties to work on preserving the security and stability of the Libyan territories. He highlighted that “the most dangerous thing facing our Arab nation is terrorism and extremism.

For his part, the Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, also called for continued dialogue between the countries of the region and Iran to achieve security and stability. Al-Sabah said that "the Arab world faces great challenges and dangers, calling on the Arab nation to transcend their differences to overcome these challenges.

"We confirm that relations with Iran must be based on the stable foundations of international relations and international law, which are based on respect for the sovereignty of states and refrain from interfering in their internal affairs and respecting the requirements of good neighborliness," Al-Sabah said.

He added: "We are now looking forward to continuing consultations and constructive dialogue between the countries of the region and Tehran to achieve security and stability in them."

On the general Arab situation, Al-Sabah said, "The so-called Arab Spring has removed the security and stability of our brothers and disrupted the development and construction in their countries."In order to overcome this dark period of our Arab reality, we are required to draw lessons from what has happened to us, to correct many of our courses of action in order to fortify our societies and to consolidate our internal frontiers to meet the legitimate aspirations of our peoples," the Amir said.

"We are required at the level of the mechanism of the Arab summits to be dealing with a different approach than we have in the past, and this summit today to start a new path for us through which we work to focus on specific topics represent a diagnosis of the constraints we face," the Emir of Kuwait said.
"The differences we suffer will lead us only to further divide our position and weaken our cohesion, which must be with us to work with all effort to rise above these differences," he added.

He stressed that there can be no peace nor stability in the region without a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian cause, the core issue of the Middle East, based on the two-state solution.

We will continue to fight against any attempts to change the status quo and to stand up against attempts for temporal and spatial division of Al Aqsa Mosque, with your support and assistance," the king said. "We must all work as one to safeguard Jerusalem and prevent attempts to create new facts on the ground that would have catastrophic consequences on the region’s future and stability, he stated.

The king hoped that the recent talks in Geneva and Astana will bring about a breakthrough in the Syrian crisis, as it enters its seventh year, to launch an inclusive political process that involves all components of the Syrian people, maintains the territorial integrity of Syria, and guarantees the safety of its citizens and the return of refugees.

The king reaffirmed his support to the Iraqi government in its fight against terrorism, paving the way for an inclusive, comprehensive political process that safeguards the rights of all and establishes for a united and stable Iraq.

"We express our support for efforts to restore stability and security in Yemen and Libya in order to build a bright future for their peoples. To that end, we must take the initiative and put forward ground-breaking solutions to pervasive challenges, in order to prevent foreign interference in our affairs," the king indicated.