Riyadh/Tehran - In his first meeting Saturday with Saudi
King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz in Riyadh, Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad said that Iran and Saudi Arabia are obliged to help meet
the needs of the Islamic world.
'Iran and Saudi Arabia are two great and powerful Islamic
countries and accordingly have numerous mutual obligations and
responsibilities in the Islamic world and Middle East,' Ahmadinejad
said in a statement on the website of the Iranian presidential
office.
'The eyes of hope of Islamic nations are focused on these two
countries, expecting from us to settle their problems and cover their
needs, and therefore bilateral ties should be far beyond relations by
just two neighbouring countries.'
Ahmadinejad further said that in the current critical juncture,
'coordination between Iran and Saudi Arabia could strengthen identity
and greatness of the Islamic world.'
The Iranian president thanked the Saudis for their efforts during
pilgrimages to Mecca and Medina, attended every year by millions of
Muslims worldwide including more than 80,000 Iranians.
He called for expansion of ties in the fields of business, energy,
culture and theology.
The Iranian website quoted Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz as
saying that Saudi Arabia is the 'second home country for Iranians.'
'Today, the Islamic world has many enemies who want to sow discord
between the two countries, but our two nations are Muslims with a
united belief and therefore enjoying good relations,' Abdullah said.
'We have the duty to confront the enemies with wisdom and reason
and not allow them to realize their aims of sowing discord.'
Abdullah regretted the short duration of Ahmadinejad's visit and
said that there had been 'numerous issues' that the two states needed
to discuss.
According to the report, the two officials continued their talks
behind closed doors.
In his first official visit to the Kingdom, Ahmadinejad had
arrived Saturday afternoon in Riyadh for talks with Abdullah.
Ahmadinejad was received by the Saudi monarch and Prince Bandar
bin Sultan, secretary general of the National Security Council, who
is known to be close to the Bush administration in Washington.
Before leaving Tehran, the Iranian leader told the press that he
would 'talk with Saudi officials on what steps should be taken in the
current juncture as far as the Islamic world and international
community are concerned.'
'Iran and Saudi Arabia are two great countries willing to
strengthen and expand bilateral ties on the basis of mutual respect,'
Ahmadinejad said.
According to an earlier Arab News report, Ahmadinejad intended to
focus on 'the situation in the Middle East and the latest
developments in the region and the world of Islam.'
Latest developments in Lebanon and Iraq were on top of the agenda.
Independent observers in the Middle East have recently said that Iran
was trying to push the US to start a dialogue with Tehran aimed at
stabilizing the situation in Iraq.
It was not until Saturday that Iran received proposals from the
United States to hold talks on Iraq, according to Iranian Foreign
Ministry Spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini, quoted on the website of
IRIB state television.
'As far as Iraq is concerned, our stance is very clear: we should
all help the Iraqi government to establish full security,'
Ahmadinejad told the press earlier. 'As far as Lebanon is concerned,
the will of the Lebanese people should be respected, and we will
support independence and the process to strengthen national unity.'
Diplomatic sources said that the Iranian and Saudi leaders would
also discuss the controversial Iranian nuclear programme, opposed by
Western states led by the United States.
In December, a United Nations Security Council resolution imposed
sanctions on Iran for the first time and threatened further steps if
Iran did not halt its nuclear activities within 60 days.
A report last week by the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said Iran had in fact expanded rather
than halted enrichment activities.
Observers considered the talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia
unusual.
As a Sunni Muslim state, Saudi Arabia is a close regional ally of
the United States - often termed the Great Satan by Shiite Iran -
while bloody ethnic conflicts between Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq also
polarize Riyadh and Tehran.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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