Saudi Curtain Lifted on Diplomacy Spurred by Syria Killings
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Saudi Arabia’s backing for rebels in Syria is the latest sign that Arab unrest is pushing the traditionally reticent kingdom into more active diplomacy.
Arming Syria’s opposition is an “excellent idea,” Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the world’s longest-serving foreign minister, told reporters at a meeting in Tunisia last month. King Abdullah was blunt with Russia after it blocked United Nations action on Syria, telling then-President Dmitry Medvedev that there was no point in discussing the matter.