Brussels, 29/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 28 September, the deputy speaker of Saudi Arabia's Majlis al-Shura, Mohammed bin Amin al-Jefri, stated that Syria's President Bashar al-Assad was not part of a solution in Syria. Some Western leaders could relax their position against al-Assad, however, as part of the fight against Islamic State (IS).
“A peaceful and political solution is the only solution to the crisis, based on the result of Geneva I. And Bashar al-Assad, whose hands are tainted with blood, must not be a part of this”, Mohammed bin Amin al-Jefri told the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee. “We could help the various opposition groups unite around a solution, but if the international community allows Bashar al-Assad to be part of the solution, this will be impossible. How can you persuade the Syrians, after all these deaths, that the solution includes al-Assad?” he asked.
Questioned about setting up a platform with the main leaders for a solution in Syria, Mohammed bin Amin al-Jefri said he believed that the platform already existed - that “Geneva I was available”. “What's needed now is the resolve of the international community to take action as mediator and to implement the Geneva I agreements (…) We are ready to make every effort that allows peace to be reached”, he added.
Mohammed bin Amin al-Jefri also rejected the accusations that his country would support terrorist groups. He said that Saudi Arabia had adopted one law that criminalises every citizen who declares themself to be close to a terrorist organisation or a member of one, and another law enabling the country to analyse “the financial flows very closely and to ensure that they are not transferred to these organisations”.
In addition, while the Arab countries are often criticised for their lack of hosting Syrian refugees, Mohammed bin Amin al-Jefri announced that since the start of the crisis, his country had welcomed 2.5 million Syrian citizens, and that it “had taken care not to treat them as refugees”. “They don't want to come to our country. We accepted those that wanted to come. But they have hopes and that's why they have sought out the route towards Europe”, he said, hailing the efforts of the Europeans to host the refugees. These efforts “reflect the EU's respect for human rights”, he said.
Although Mohammed bin Amin al-Jefri also spoke about the situation in Yemen and the Middle East during his speech, he avoided answering MEPs' questions about the situation of the blogger Raif Badawi or about Ali al-Nimr, who has been sentenced to be beheaded and then crucified. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)