Saudi ambassador to US resigns
>By Roula Khalaf in London
>Published: July 20 2005 19:26 | Last updated: July 20 2005 19:26
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Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry on Wednesday confirmed the resignation of Prince Bandar bin-Sultan, the kingdom's long-serving ambassador to the United States, and his replacement by Prince Turki al-Feisal, the former spy chief who is now the Saudi envoy to Britain.
The departure of the flamboyant Prince Bandar, for what the ministry described as “personal reasons,“ comes at a time when tensions between the US and Saudi Arabia, provoked by the September 11 attacks, have started to ease.
Prince Bandar has served in Washington for two decades and enjoyed unparalleled access to the American political establishment, including to the Bush family.
But the personal relationships were not enough to shield the world's largest oil exporter from a fierce campaign of criticism in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, which were waged by a group of mostly Saudis.
Prince Bandar, son of Prince Sultan, the powerful defence minister, was forced to lower his profile in recent years while Adel Jubair, foreign policy adviser to Crown Prince Abdullah, the kingdom's de facto ruler, became the chief Saudi spokesman in Washington.
The prince will be replaced by Turki al-Feisal, a more discreet diplomat who is also considered much closer to the crown prince. Prince Turki, son of the late King Feisal and brother of Prince Saud, the current foreign minister, resigned as the kingdom's spy chief a month before the September 11 attacks. He was appointed ambassador to the UK in 2002.
His move to Washington, however, will not be free of controversy. As the former head of Saudi intelligence, Prince Turki has strong ties with US intelligence services and was instrumental in organising the campaign of US-backed Arab fighters who helped the battle against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s.
Since the attacks of September 11, however, he has fought repeated accusations that he had backed the Taliban, the Afghan militia that was harbouring al-Qaeda, as well as the terrorist network itself. The prince has vigorously denied the charges. Earlier this year, he and other members of the Saudi royal family were dismissed as defendants in a civil lawsuit that alleged they had given support to al-Qaeda.
US criticism of Saudi Arabia has subsided over the past year, as the Riyadh regime stepped up its campaign against domestic extremists who have waged a series of bombing attacks against Western targets.
In April, Crown Prince Abdullah met President George W. Bush in an effort to revive the “special relationship”. A joint statement was issued, emphasising common goals, including the fight against terrorism and the stability of Iraq.
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