Saudi Arabia Supports U.S. Position on Establishing Palestinian State

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, November 28, 2001

Saudi Arabia Supports U.S. Position on Establishing Palestinian State

Saudi Arabia Tuesday reiterated its support for the U.S. initiative to solve the Mideastcrisis by establishing a Palestinian state alongside with Israel.

Saudi Arabia Tuesday reiterated its support for the U.S. initiative to solve the Mideastcrisis by establishing a Palestinian state alongside with Israel.

In a release issued by the official Saudi Press Agency, Saudi Arabia, a key ally of the United States in the region, stressed again its support for the recent U.S. positive stands on the Mideast peace process.

"We hope that the U.S. stance will help achieve a just and balanced solution to the Israeli-Palestinian disputes and reach a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East," the release said.

The oil-rich gulf country also called for serious and practical steps to establish an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, so as to realize security and stability in the region.

Meanwhile, Saudi King Fahd Ibn Abdul-Aziz called for "immediate implementation" of the U.S. initiative on the basis of "international legitimacy."

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State William Burns and retired marine general Anthony Zinni arrived on Monday in Israel to begin their mediation mission aimed at ending the 14 months of bloody clashes between Israel and the Palestinians, in which more than 900people, most of them Palestinians, have been killed since Septemberlast year.

U.S. President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell have openly expressed support for the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Many Arab countries have welcomed the new U.S. position on the Mideast peace process, but urged the U.S. to take concrete measuresto "turn words into actions."