Prince Saud served under four Saudi kings, advancing the kingdom's foreign policy, especially after the attacks of September 11, 2001 in the United States. US Secretary of State John Kerry said that "Saud was not only the longest-serving foreign minister, but was also one of the wisest"

Prince Sa�ud Al Faysal : A remembrance

Prince Sa’ud Al Faysal, who served as Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs for forty years, passed away on July 9, 2015. On April 18, 1984, he met with me—a young scholar who had not yet turned thirty—in his office in Riyadh. In remembrance of him, I am posting an adaptation from my travel narrative, Middle Eastern Sketches (1997), describing my meeting with him as well as how prophetic what he said to me then turned out to be.
Prince Sa’ud greeted me as I entered. He was a very tall man who spoke English perfectly. He, his assistant Khalid Jindan, and I were the only ones in the room.
Just recently, the new Saudi ambassador in Washington, Prince Bandar, had had dinner with the Soviet ambassador, Anatoliy Dobrynin. There was much speculation that this presaged the imminent resumption of Saudi-Soviet diplomatic relations (there had been ties between them in the 1920s and 1930s, but not since then). I asked Prince Sa’ud if this was about to occur.
He shook his head and said, “We will only recognize Moscow if it meets certain conditions:
“First,” he began, “they must completely withdraw their armed forces from Afghanistan.” The Soviets had invaded that country in 1979 to prop up a Marxist regime there against its Muslim opponents.
“Second, they must end all hostile propaganda against Saudi Arabia.”
“Third, they must withdraw from Ethiopia and South Yemen.” Ethiopia was just across the Red Sea while South Yemen directly bordered on Saudi Arabia. Both had Marxist regimes and a large Soviet military presence.
“Fourth, there must be freedom for Muslims to practice their religion in the USSR.”
“But even if they meet all our conditions,” the prince added, “relations will not be restored automatically. There must also be the right psychological conditions. ”
When the prince said this in April 1984, it seemed as if he was setting conditions which he knew the Soviets would never meet. Saudi-Soviet relations, then, would never be re-established.
In September 1990, though, Prince Sa’ud went to Moscow and met with Eduard Shevardnadze (then the Soviet foreign minister). Saudi-Soviet relations were formally re-established.
By the time this happened, all the conditions which the prince told me that Moscow must meet either had been met or were just about to be. Moscow had long since ended its hostile propaganda against the kingdom. Soviet forces completed their withdrawal from Afghanistan in February 1989.
Moscow made no move to halt the self-liquidation of the Marxist regime in South Yemen and its merger under the leadership of non-Marxist North Yemen in May 1990. Moscow had considerably reduced its assistance to Marxist Ethiopia and would end it completely by January 1991 (the regime would be driven out of power a few months later).
In addition, by the time Prince Sa’ ud went to Moscow, Muslims were free to practice their religion in what was still the USSR. Much to Saudi dismay, Muslims in the USSR had become so free that a little later many of them would vigorously protest Soviet support for the American-led, UN-sponsored coalition formed to protect the kingdom and expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait.
And last but not least, the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait apparently created the right “psychological conditions:” Riyadh was finally willing
to restore diplomatic ties with the USSR in order to make sure Moscow voted its way on UN Security Council resolutions aimed at Iraq–which Moscow did.
Although it seemed impossible in 1984, the Soviets had fulfilled all the Saudi conditions for resuming relations by 1990.
After he listed these conditions back in 1984, I asked the prince whether he thought the Soviets would ever fulfill them.
He smiled and said, “It is in the hands of God.”
Former Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal has died, two months after he retired following 40 years in the job.
A statement from the Royal Court on Thursday said Prince Saud, who was born in 1940, died
in the United States. No cause was given for
his death, but he had faced many health
problems.
Prince Saud, who was appointed in 1975, was the world's longest serving foreign minister when he was replaced on April 29 by Adel al-Jubeir, the then ambassador to Washington.
His tenure saw Israel invade Lebanon in 1978, 1982 and 2006, the eruption of Palestinian intifadas in 1987 and 2000, Iraq's invasions of Iran in 1980 and Kuwait in 1990, and the occupation of Iraq by a US-led coalition in 2003.
Prince Saud served under four Saudi kings, advancing the kingdom's foreign policy, especially after the attacks of September 11, 2001 in the United States.  He was also part of Saudi Arabia's efforts to lessen Iran's influence in the region, including the continuing conflict in Syria, where Saudi Arabia has been supporting several rebel groups.
Asked in early 2012 if it would be a good idea to arm Syria's rebels, he said briskly: "I think it's an excellent idea."
Prince Saud, a son of King Faisal, was born in Taif near Mecca, where in 1989 he helped negotiate the agreement that ended Lebanon's 15-year civil war.
A degree at Princeton in the 1960s was followed by years at the Petroleum Ministry, where he was taken under the wing of his father's canny and charismatic oil minister Ahmed Zaki Yamani.
His career as a diplomat began traumatically: the new King Khaled named him as foreign
minister following the assassination of Prince Saud's father Faisal, who had retained the foreign affairs portfolio after being made king in 1962. As the foreign minister of an important political and economic US ally in the region, Prince Saud was reported to have been well liked and respected in diplomatic circles.
Barack Obama, the US president, expressed his condolences to the deceased's family and described him as "a committed and accomplished diplomat". US Secretary of State John Kerry  said that "Saud was not only the longest-serving foreign minister, but was also one of the wisest".
    Alochonaa.com

 

Prince Saud served under four Saudi kings, advancing the kingdoms foreign policy, especially after the attacks of September 11, 2001 in the United States. US Secretary of State John Kerry said that Saud was not only the longest-serving foreign minister, but was also one of the wisest

Prince Sa�ud Al Faysal : A remembrance

Prince Saud Al Faysal, who served as Saudi Arabias Minister of Foreign Affairs for forty years, passed away on July 9, 2015. On April 18, 1984, he met with mea young scholar who had not yet turned thirtyin his office in Riyadh. In remembrance of him, I am posting an adaptation from my travel narrative, Middle Eastern Sketches (1997), describing my meeting with him as well as how prophetic what he said to me then turned out to be. Prince Saud greeted me as I entered. He was a very tall man who spoke English perfectly. He, his assistant Khalid Jindan, and I were the only ones in the room. Just recently, the new Saudi ambassador in Washington, Prince Bandar, had had dinner with the Soviet ambassador, Anatoliy Dobrynin. There was much speculation that this presaged the imminent resumption of Saudi-Soviet diplomatic relations (there had been ties between them in the 1920s and 1930s, but not since then). I asked Prince Saud if this was about to occur. He shook his head and said, We will only recognize Moscow if it meets certain conditions: First, he began, they must completely withdraw their armed forces from Afghanistan. The Soviets had invaded that country in 1979 to prop up a Marxist regime there against its Muslim opponents. Second, they must end all hostile propaganda against Saudi Arabia. Third, they must withdraw from Ethiopia and South Yemen. Ethiopia was just across the Red Sea while South Yemen directly bordered on Saudi Arabia. Both had Marxist regimes and a large Soviet military presence. Fourth, there must be freedom for Muslims to practice their religion in the USSR. But even if they meet all our conditions, the prince added, relations will not be restored automatically. There must also be the right psychological conditions. When the prince said this in April 1984, it seemed as if he was setting conditions which he knew the Soviets would never meet. Saudi-Soviet relations, then, would never be re-established. In September 1990, though, Prince Saud went to Moscow and met with Eduard Shevardnadze (then the Soviet foreign minister). Saudi-Soviet relations were formally re-established. By the time this happened, all the conditions which the prince told me that Moscow must meet either had been met or were just about to be. Moscow had long since ended its hostile propaganda against the kingdom. Soviet forces completed their withdrawal from Afghanistan in February 1989. Moscow made no move to halt the self-liquidation of the Marxist regime in South Yemen and its merger under the leadership of non-Marxist North Yemen in May 1990. Moscow had considerably reduced its assistance to Marxist Ethiopia and would end it completely by January 1991 (the regime would be driven out of power a few months later). In addition, by the time Prince Sa ud went to Moscow, Muslims were free to practice their religion in what was still the USSR. Much to Saudi dismay, Muslims in the USSR had become so free that a little later many of them would vigorously protest Soviet support for the American-led, UN-sponsored coalition formed to protect the kingdom and expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait. And last but not least, the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait apparently created the right psychological conditions: Riyadh was finally willing to restore diplomatic ties with the USSR in order to make sure Moscow voted its way on UN Security Council resolutions aimed at Iraqwhich Moscow did. Although it seemed impossible in 1984, the Soviets had fulfilled all the Saudi conditions for resuming relations by 1990. After he listed these conditions back in 1984, I asked the prince whether he thought the Soviets would ever fulfill them. He smiled and said, It is in the hands of God. Former Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal has died, two months after he retired following 40 years in the job. A statement from the Royal Court on Thursday said Prince Saud, who was born in 1940, died in the United States. No cause was given for his death, but he had faced many health problems. Prince Saud, who was appointed in 1975, was the worlds longest serving foreign minister when he was replaced on April 29 by Adel al-Jubeir, the then ambassador to Washington. His tenure saw Israel invade Lebanon in 1978, 1982 and 2006, the eruption of Palestinian intifadas in 1987 and 2000, Iraqs invasions of Iran in 1980 and Kuwait in 1990, and the occupation of Iraq by a US-led coalition in 2003. Prince Saud served under four Saudi kings, advancing the kingdoms foreign policy, especially after the attacks of September 11, 2001 in the United States. He was also part of Saudi Arabias efforts to lessen Irans influence in the region, including the continuing conflict in Syria, where Saudi Arabia has been supporting several rebel groups. Asked in early 2012 if it would be a good idea to arm Syrias rebels, he said briskly: I think its an excellent idea. Prince Saud, a son of King Faisal, was born in Taif near Mecca, where in 1989 he helped negotiate the agreement that ended Lebanons 15-year civil war. A degree at Princeton in the 1960s was followed by years at the Petroleum Ministry, where he was taken under the wing of his fathers canny and charismatic oil minister Ahmed Zaki Yamani. His career as a diplomat began traumatically: the new King Khaled named him as foreign minister following the assassination of Prince Sauds father Faisal, who had retained the foreign affairs portfolio after being made king in 1962. As the foreign minister of an important political and economic US ally in the region, Prince Saud was reported to have been well liked and respected in diplomatic circles. Barack Obama, the US president, expressed his condolences to the deceaseds family and described him as a committed and accomplished diplomat. US Secretary of State John Kerry said that Saud was not only the longest-serving foreign minister, but was also one of the wisest. Alochonaa.com