Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, the kingdom's foreign minister, has stated that the country is organizing the fifth round of negotiations, despite the previous 'lack of real progress.'
Following a "lack of real progress" in past rounds of direct discussions with Iran, Saudi Arabia is attempting to organize a fifth session of direct talks with the Islamic Republic, according to the kingdom's foreign minister at the Munich Security Conference.
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| [Ina Fassbender/Pool via AP Photo] |
Saudi Arabia broke ties with Iran in 2016 when demonstrators stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran following the death of a Shia religious leader by Riyadh, prompting the kingdom to terminate ties. The two regional giants began negotiations last year in Iraq, which served as the host country.
On Saturday, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud stated that if the 2015 nuclear agreement were to be restored, it should be considered "a beginning point, not an endpoint," in order to resolve regional security concerns. Saudi Arabia has criticized the agreement for failing to address Tehran's ballistic missile development program.
"In order for this to happen, our Iranian neighbors must demonstrate a sincere commitment to addressing the fundamental challenges that present... According to him, "we hope that there is a genuine willingness to develop a new mode of operation."
"If we see significant progress on those issues, then rapprochement is a possibility." "As of yet, we haven't seen anything like that," he said at the Munich Security Conference.
Saudi Arabia, a Sunni Muslim country, and Iran, a Shia Muslim country, are engaged in a number of proxy conflicts around the Middle East, especially in Yemen. Since 2015, Riyadh has served as the leader of an Arab coalition fighting against the Iran-aligned Houthi insurgency in Yemen.
Conflict between the two nations erupted in 2019 following an attack on Saudi oil facilities that was attributed to Iran, an allegation that Tehran has rejected. Tensions have continued to boil over the Yemen conflict as well.
He said that Iran continued to send the Houthis with ballistic missile and drone parts, as well as conventional weaponry; however, both Tehran and Yemen's Houthi organization denied this accusation.
In reference to the UN-led attempts to broker a truce in Yemen, he stated, "This does not assist to finding a route to settlement of that war, but we are dedicated and we are supportive of the United Nations envoy."
Yemen's protracted conflict has killed tens of thousands of lives and forced millions of people from their homes, culminating in what the United Nations has described as the world's greatest humanitarian disaster in recent history.
Baghdad hopes that its mediation would prevent the neighbours from settling old scores on its soil after four rounds of talks between Tehran and Riyadh have taken place in Iraq. Saudi Arabia has described the discussions as courteous but exploratory, while Iran claims that they have progressed a "significant distance."
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES
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