Arabic/Eng/Nat Saudi Arabia's Defence Minister, Prince Sultan, pledged Thursday to stand with the United States in pursuing peace in the Middle East and in countering terrorism. The Saudi prince, who also is deputy prime minister, said he had been assured during his visit that the Clinton administration would continue along the path it followed in its first term. After meetings with high U-S officials, the Sultan called the selection of Albright a "well-thought out and wise choice." Albright, the first woman to hold the top diplomatic post, sat with an American interpreter between her and the Prince, whose strict Islamic Kingdom limits public contact with women. She said the Saudis and the U-S are firmly behind the Middle East peace process. SOUNDBITE: "The United States and Saudi Arabia share a commitment to reaching a comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East. Our two nations are steadfast in supporting the peacemakers." SUPER CAPTION: Madeleine Albright, U-S Secretary of State SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) "I would like to say His Majesty King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah, they believe and they feel and they appreciate the strong friendship between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States. Therefore, we have to stand together strongly in favour of peace and against everyone who tries to impede this peace or destroy it. Thank you very much." SUPER CAPTION: Prince Sultan, Saudi Defence Minister Albright said Saudi Arabia supported the United States in sanctioning Iraq, shared U-S concerns over Iran, supported peace in Bosnia and was providing economic assistance to the Palestinians. Later, State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said the Saudis had affirmed their intention to continue large-scale economic assistance to the Palestinians on the West Bank and in Gaza. Albright and the Prince Sultan discussed the ongoing investigation into last year's bombing of a U-S military base in Dhahran. SOUNDBITE: "First they talked about the al-Khobar bombing as you would expect, and we've been assured of continued Saudi co-operation and intention to work very effectively and completely with the United States but specifically with the F-B-I in our ongoing investigation to determine who bombed the Khobar barracks last June, who is responsible for the deaths of the 19 American officers. The United States is committed to bringing these people to justice and we're counting on the Saudi authorities to help us to do that." SUPER CAPTION: Nicholas Burns, State Department spokesman And, Burns said, in all of Sultan's meetings here, including one with President Clinton, the prince and his associates promised to cooperate with U-S investigators. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/b1f864820df8ccde1f0183faf4d05b26 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

• published: 21 Jul 2015
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