Saudi does not owe anything to US for its security; Mohammed Bin Salman

Riyadh: Saudi has reacted to the US President’s statement that ‘Saudi is being protected by the United States and that they will have to pay for it’. Saudi Arabia has paid for all the defence equipment that was supplied to it and will not pay separately for its security, lambasted Saudi Arabian Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman. At the same time, he clarified that US President Trump is a good friend and he had a good experience of working with him.

‘The United States is protecting Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is a rich country and I have respect for King Salman. But the Saudi King must realise that the United States is protecting him. In absence of the United States, the Saudi King will not remain in power for more than two weeks. You will have to pay for your security,’ warned President Trump to Saudi. Even in the past, President Trump had referred to Saudi Arabia as a rich country and had questioned the United States’ funding for the Saudi defence forces.

In view of this, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman clarified Saudi’s position. ‘Saudi has paid for all the defence equipment supplied by the United States. The arms have not come for free from the United States. Every single thing has been purchased by Saudi ever since the Saudi-United States cooperation began,’ pointed out Prince Mohammed. Hence, Saudi need not pay the United States separately for its security, he added.

While talking about the statements made by President Trump, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman clarified that President Trump was a very good friend. He indicated that he did not take President Trump’s statements seriously because as a friend, Trump had the right to say positive, as well as negative things about the Prince.

The Saudi-US relations came back on track after Donald Trump took over as the President of the United States. Before Trump, the Obama administration had taken a liberal stance about Iran and signed a nuclear deal with it. At that time, the US-Saudi relations were stressed to the limit. But after Trump took over as the President, he adopted an aggressive stance against Iran and the US-Saudi cooperation strengthened at all levels.

In 2017, Trump attempted to bring all the Islamic countries together to form a front against Iran. He had referred to these efforts even in his speech at the United Nations. Thus, the relationship between the two countries is much stronger to be affected by such exchanges and in view of the conflict with Iran, the dispute is not likely to go beyond these statements.