CPOMS and the IOM still advocate a return of the international community to its historic role in regional security. That is our view, and I think that that view is shared by most governments and individuals.
What do you think is the need for a United Nations Security Council resolution on Syria?
We now have the baseline of many events. These events are not only related to the situation in Syria, they are inherently related to Israel’s relationship to Saudi Arabia and the regional security environment. The situation in the Kurdish region, the situation on the Turkish-Syrian borderline, the massive influx of refugees from Syria, and the fact that Saudi-Palestinian negotiations have failed to move ahead – all of these events are of critical significance to the Iraqi-Saudi relationship.
- Ghassan Zakaria and Sana Shaikh, Foreign Ministry, Riyadh (24 September 2017)
S.W.: We’re starting. You have received the bureaucratic and intellectual support of the Obama administration. So, when you talk about the reelection of Donald Trump, what does he think of Israel’t acting against the Saudi security interest and refusing to go along with these negotiations?
- Sana, unfortunately, there is no way to tell you. There are many issues that are not being addressed by Donald Trump. The most important one is the situation of the conflict and the occupation of Palestinians. This is clearly the top goal of the Trump administration. He is seeking to bring the conflict to a restart in the negotiations.
I don’t think that the United States is going to be able to bring peace in Syria. There is no room for a peaceful settlement in the Middle East. And if the United Nations is going, the UN Security Council should be stronger and stronger.
It is unfortunate that the Trump agenda does not allow for a real peace process in the Arab world. The reality that the West is going away from the Arab regions is very troubling.