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Article: Gaining confidence: Riyadh is well placed to assert itself on the regional stage after years of record growth. Its statements have often followed the US line, but the kingdom is expected to take a more independent line.(SPECIAL REPORT: SAUDI ARABIA)
- Article from:
- MEED Middle East Economic Digest
- Article date:
- February 16, 2007
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Riyadh's frustrations with its neighbours are coming to the fore. Just before inviting Hamas and Fatah representatives to Makkah in early February in an attempt to broker a truce between the warring Palestinian factions, King Abdullah was gently reproaching his Iranian counterparts.
"We have advised them not to expose the region to dangers," the Saudi monarch told a Kuwaiti newspaper after a meeting with senior Iranian official Ali Larijani in Riyadh. "We do not interfere in anyone's affairs, but any state which resorts to unwise acts will have to bear the responsibility in front of other countries in the region."
The remarks will be music to American ...