DAVOS, Switzerland (Dispatches) -- Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said the kingdom was trying to find a path to dialogue with Iran as the best way to resolve differences.
He said a decision by Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states to focus on their economies and development was a “strong signal to Iran and others in the region that there is a pathway beyond traditional arguments and disputes towards joint prosperity”.
“I think the more we can build a sense of cooperation in the region, the more we can work together, the more we can deliver not just prosperity for our people, but also for our immediate region and beyond.”
Riyadh and Tehran cut ties in 2016 but officials from the two countries have held five rounds of direct talks hosted by Iraq since last year, the last of which was in April, without achieving any diplomatic breakthroughs.
The Saudi foreign minister, speaking at a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, also said attention on the Middle East was needed, citing Syria as well as regional concerns over “provocative policies” by Israel’s new regime headed by Benjamin Netanyahu in an alliance with extremists.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian expressed hope on Friday during a visit to Lebanon that diplomatic ties between Tehran and Riyadh could be restored through dialog between them.
“We are ready to restore ties, and such a move would have positive repercussions on the entire region,” he told a news conference in Beirut.
He said the first steps should be resuming talks on reopening Iran’s consulate in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, and Saudi Arabia’s consulate in the holy northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad for citizens interested in religious travel.
“But as we see it, Saudi Arabia is not completely ready to work on… normalizing ties,” Amir-Abdollahian told reporters.
Last month, Amir-Abdollahian held a meeting with his Saudi counterpart on the sidelines of a conference in Jordan.