Riyadh, (UNA-OIC) – Saudi Arabia is ready, willing and able to deploy troops in support of any US-led effort to stabilize Syria, Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir reaffirmed on Tuesday.
We are in discussions with the US, and have been since the beginning of the Syrian crisis, about sending forces into Syria, Al-Jubeir said.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that US President Donald Trump’s administration was seeking to assemble an Arab force, including troops from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, to help restore stability in Syria.
Saudi Arabia’s offer of help was not new, Al-Jubeir said at a press conference in Riyadh with UN secretary general Antonio Guterres. We made a proposal to the Obama administration that if the US were to send forces … then Saudi Arabia would consider along with other countries sending forces as part of this contingent.
Riyadh has suggested that it could help counter-terrorism operations in some other theaters of conflict as part of a wider Muslim alliance. For example, a Saudi-backed Islamic military coalition will provide logistical, intelligence, and training to a new West African counter-terrorism force, Al-Jubeir said in December.
On the issue of Palestine, Guterres said there should be a strong mutual commitment to a two-state solution. There is no Plan B. We need to make sure that Palestinians have that right as well as the Israelis, and the two must live in stability.
Commenting on the Yemen situation, Al-Jubeir said: A political solution in Yemen is up to Houthis … This is not a war desired by the Kingdom, but it was imposed on it. The only solution in Yemen is a political one. The reason for not reaching a resolution is the stubbornness of the Houthis.
The Houthis have launched 119 missiles toward Saudi Arabia. The Houthis are using young children on their missions, laying siege to villages and not allowing aid to come in. They sell this aid to finance their war. Everything they are doing is terrorism.
Source: International Islamic News Agency