We have contacts with Abu Mazen constantly. His foreign minister was just in Saudi Arabia and before that, Abu Mazen was in Saudi Arabia. We see the contact that has been made between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and we are hopeful. If the Israelis withdraw from Gaza and the four settlements and allow the Palestinians to be secure from assassination and to build their security forces, the Palestinians can do what they committed to do in terms of security.
The Qataris and Omanis are talking about establishing official trade contacts with Israel. Would Saudi Arabia contemplate this?
Getting the message: A poster promoting an international conference on terrorism earlier this month in Riyadh.
(Zainal Abd Halim -- Reuters)
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We never had this. We have a proposal for total peace in the Middle East and that is the condition.
What is the condition under which Saudi Arabia would establish some kind of relations with Israel?
If there is total peace and every Arab country signs the peace treaty that was proposed [by Crown Prince Abdullah] and accepted by the Beirut conference [in 2002]. It said total peace for total withdrawal to the '67 borders. . . . We are pleased to see [British] Prime Minister [Tony] Blair urging a continuation of the peace process and a return to the road map. We think that if you join the road map with the Arab proposal, you have a good plan.
The U.S. has given additional money to the Palestinian Authority. Will Saudi Arabia do the same?
We are their largest contributor and will continue to be so.
How do you assess the U.S.-Saudi relationship and what is your view of President Bush's emphasis on the need for reform?
The relationship is going well. The president also indicated that reform has to come from inside the countries of the region and must fulfill the requirements of the people. He expressed the wish that this would happen quickly in the Middle East, and we expressed the wish that the Palestinian question be quickly solved. So I hope both our wishes will come true.
But there have been strains in the relationship since Sept. 11, isn't that so?
Magazines, newspapers and television stations have described the relations as those of enmity. This is not true. The relationship with the government of the United States is healthy. It has become more healthy recently. Compared to the warmth that existed before Sept. 11, we are reaching gradually the level of comfort and warmth we enjoyed before. The U.S. government knows what we have done about terrorism, and they know that we are reforming. True, it is according to our capacity and our timetable. But there is no question that the government is serious about reforms and is working so the reforms will happen without breaking the social fabric of the country.
There has been a lot of talk about the relationship between the Wahabi religious extremists in your country and terrorism. How do you answer this?
Saudi Arabia is a religious country with a strong faith. We also have our share of extremists, but they are a minority. The mistake that happens in newspapers is that there is an intended confusion by so-called experts who are trying to claim that the extremists are the society of Saudi Arabia. The newspapers [claim] every one of the religious people who express extreme opinions -- saying there should be jihad -- represent Saudi Arabia, which they don't.
So you don't believe that Saudi Arabia bred and paid for terrorists who ultimately struck the kingdom in May 2003?
