Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal is hoping that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon can "miraculously" turn Middle East peacemaker.
Prince Saud, who was to attend the March 1-2 London conference on Palestinian reform that Palestinians hope will strengthen international pressure on Israel to advance the peace process, praised Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, also expected in London, as a man with the right peace negotiating credentials.
"Mahmoud Abbas has absolutely the right credentials for a peace negotiator but what is really discouraging is on the other side we have somebody who has done everything to stop any peace movement from achieving its goals," the Saudi foreign minister said in a television interview which the <i>BBC</i> broadcast Sunday.
"I hope he (Sharon) proves me wrong and most people wrong because most people really do not see how it is possible for somebody who has lived for so long with a certain held view that the only way there is a good Palestinian is a dead Palestinian... can have turned his skin to the extent that he becomes a peacemaker.
"But miracles do happen and I hope there is a miracle in this instance," the prince added.
Furthermore, the Saudi foreign minister added his government's "great appreciation" for British Prime Minister Tony Blair for taking the initiative to host the Palestinian conference. "We hope that this appreciation will turn into real thanks for a solution," he said.
