Syria crisis: US urges Saudis to support diplomacy to end bloodshed
Source: The Guardian
The US is urging Saudi Arabia to support international diplomatic efforts to resolve the bloody crisis in Syria amid concern that the Saudis and Qatar are planning to arm the rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.
On a day that saw now-familiar Friday protests and killings across Syria, the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, was in Riyadh for talks with King Abdullah and other Saudi leaders as part of what was billed as an effort to pressure Assad.
Clinton, the British foreign secretary William Hague, and dozens of other western and Arab foreign ministers will be in Istanbul on Sunday for a meeting of the Friends of Syria group, designed to demonstrate resolve and orchestrate action against the Damascus regime.
The last time the group met the Saudis said it was "a good idea" to arm the Syrian rebels and create a safe haven on the Turkish border. The US, UK and most western and Arab countries, which united to support the anti-Gaddafi Libyan rebels last year, disagreed.
Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/30/syria-crisis-saudi-arabia-diplomacy
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