Saudi Arabia and France on Saturday stressed the need to track down and prosecute the terrorists who perpetrated the attacks on US last month, according to reports.
The remarks were made by Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al Faisal and his French counterpart Hubert Vedrine.
Prince Saud said their meeting covered the current situation and international cooperation against terrorism.
He said that within the framework of comprehensive cooperation to combat terrorism, international cooperation should take place to realize the uprooting of terrorist infrastructures.
According to the official Kuwaiti news agency (KUNA), Prince Saud blamed Taliban leadership for what was happening in Afghanistan.
He said the meeting also dealt with the Middle East conflict and hailed France's role in pushing forward the Mideast peace process.
On the issue of Saudi-US relations, Prince Saud said, "As far as we are concerned, we believe the relations are strong and historic."
Saudi Arabia has been subject to a campaign in the US accusing it, together with Egypt, of not doing enough to support the US-led anti-terrorism war.
"The ground on which they are built is solid, and they can continue within this context," the minister added.
For his part, the French foreign minister said the kingdom and France were fully committed to combating terror.
He said this long-term operation must be carried out with diligence and at all levels.
Meanwhile, reports said that British Prime Minister Tony Blair would arrive in Riyadh on Wednesday in the context of his efforts to win more support for the anti-terrorism war -Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
