Al-Faisal made the remarks during a joint press conference with British Foreign Secretary William Hague in Jeddah on Tuesday.
Al-Faisal said that Saudi Arabia is ready for dialogue with Iran if the Iranians have a genuine desire for it, Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported.
According to the report, he stated that there was a series of talks with the Iranian side, in addition to plans for setting out the program of Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi’s visit to Saudi Arabia “in order to identify the points that we need to solve so the relations (could) be restored to their normal level.”
Salehi contacted Prince Saud and showed desire to continue dialogue “and I have informed him that they (Iranians) have an invitation and whenever you wish (to visit Saudi Arabia) then we will (be) happy” to receive you, said the top Saudi diplomat, according to KUNA.
Arab News also quoted Al-Faisal as saying that the Kingdom’s bilateral dialogue with Iran will continue.
Saudi troops’ withdrawal from Bahrain prerequisite for talks
However, senior Iranian lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi said on Tuesday that the preparations for Tehran-Riyadh talks can be made if Saudi Arabia withdrew its troops from Bahrain.
Speaking to the Mehr News Agency, Boroujerdi stated, “Iran’s general policy is to have good relations with all of its neighbors.”
The Iranian officials had no problem with holding talks with Saudi Arabian officials before the kingdom dispatched troops to Bahrain, added Boroujerdi, who is the chairman of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee.
“We hope that Saudi Arabian officials will exit from Bahrain as soon as possible so that the ground can be prepared for negotiations between the officials of the two countries,” he stated.
EP/PA
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MNA