US President George W. Bush concluded his visit to Saudi Arabia
on Wednesday in the context of his Mideast tour, where he tried
without much success to solicit pledges for higher oil output and
for confronting the "threat" of Iran besides promoting
Palestinian-Israeli peace process.
During his two-day stay in Riyadh, President Bush discussed with
Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz a series of issues, among them
Iran, oil prices and Middle East peace process.
During his visits in Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates
(UAE) and Kuwait, Bush voiced concern over what he believes as "the
real Iranian threats" against the pro-western Gulf states in light
of Iran's ambitions on having nuclear technology and, in the long
run, nuclear weapons.
Here in Saudi Arabia, Bush fervently asked for a coalition
against Iran, through the support of "friendly" countries and a
gesture of the Arabian Gulf countries and its closet ally,
Israel.
Bush reiterated his warning that "all options are on the table"
over Iran, and said he had asked King Abdullah and other Gulf
leaders to do more to pressure Tehran over its controversial
nuclear program.
To bolster Bush's Riyadh tour, the Bush administration has
agreed to sell a package of "smart bombs" to Saudi Arabia, worth
123 million dollars. Washington also endorsed sales of similar
advanced weaponry to Kuwait and UAE to bolster the defense of oil-
producing Arabian Gulf nations against possible threats from
Iran.
Despite all that, he did not get much warm reaction from his
Saudi hosts on the Iran issue. "Iran is a neighboring country, an
important country in the region. Naturally we have nothing bad
against Iran," said Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud
al-Faisal.
Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, highlighted the significance of
the Palestinian-Israeli peace process and demanded that United
States play a coercive role to urge Israelis to accept a peace
accord based on the legitimate rights of the Palestinians and
dismantling of (Israeli) settlements in the occupied
territories.
The Palestinian issue has remained, and will still remain, the
main reason behind tension, terrorism and instability in the region
if not justly resolved, said al-Faisal.
Under this context, Saudi Arabia says Israel's continuation of
establishing settlements casts skepticism over the seriousness of
negotiations aimed at the removal of occupation and restoration of
the Palestinian territories.
Calls for higher oil output
Bush, preoccupied by the decline of the US currency and possible
recession coupled with mortgage-related crises, struck a rather
pragmatic tone during his visit to Saudi Arabia, where he said that
he hoped OPEC would boost output to help ease recession fears back
at home.
Upon arrival in Saudi Arabia, Bush urged the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to pump more oil to lower
record crude prices ahead of its Feb. 1 meeting in Vienna.
"High energy prices can damage consuming economies," Bush told a
small group of reporters traveling before meeting late Tuesday with
Saudi King Abdullah, whose country holds the world's largest supply
of oil and which maintains a good position on the decision of
increasing oil production quotas among OPEC member countries.
Oil price hit 100 US dollars a barrel at the start of the year,
which is tough on the US economy.
"I would hope that as OPEC considers different production levels
they would understand that if their 'biggest consumers' economy
suffers, it will mean less purchases, less oil and gas sold," Bush
said in Riyadh.
However, the group said that there is no supply shortage. The
bloc pumped an average of 32.07 million barrels a day last month,
up 370,000 barrels from November. According to a survey of oil
companies and producers, OPEC increased oil production by 1.2
percent in December.
While asserting that the US economy is significant to the oil
market and demand, and no one wants to see a recession in the
United States, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said Tuesday that
Saudi Arabia would raise oil production only when the market
justifies it, adding that inventory levels appear to be
"normal."
On the other hand, a series of Arabian sovereign funds, flushed
with liquidity due to windfall profits gained by record oil prices,
have been pumping billion of dollars into ailing US financial
institutions.
Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), with an asset estimated at
250 billion US dollars, invested 5 billion dollars in Citigroup and
Merrill Lynch as the US finance companies sought fresh capital
after mortgage crises that badly hit the US capital markets.
(Xinhua News Agency January 17, 2008)
