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Saudi Arabia seeks no escalation with Iran -- FM

MUNICH, Germany, Feb 15 (KUNA) -- Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah on Saturday affirmed that the Kingdom doesn't seek to escalate the disputes with Iran.
The Saudi Government is in agreement with the United States not to escalate with the Iranians, he said in a speech to the 56th Munich Security Conference (MSC-2020).
Ruling out the possibility of direct contacts between the Saudi and Iranian governments at present, Prince Faisal said, "Any talks will be futile unless the causes of instability in the region are addressed and the proper conditions are there." Meanwhile, he said the Kingdom held talks with the Yemeni Houthis following the Iranian attack on the two Saudi Aramco oil facilities in mid-September.
"The Saudi talks with the Houthis aimed to prepare the grounds for direct dialogue between the Houthis and the Yemeni government," he pointed out.
On the relations with the United States, Prince Faisal said the Kingdom maintains "good dialogue" with the US administration and both parties at the Congress.
The MSC-2020 opened yesterday in the presence of more than 500 leaders in the fields of politics, security, business, academia and civil society from around the globe. (end) anj.fn.gb