SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, March 28 (KUNA) -- Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia on Saturday said the Houthi militias in Yemen were backed by foreign powers to destabilize the region.
"The Houthi militias have elicited foreign powers' support to threaten the region's security," King Salman said addressing the opening session of the 26th Arab Summit here today.
He said the interference of regional forces in the affairs of the Arab nation have created a "painful Arab reality".
King Salman vowed that an ongoing Saudi-led military operation in Yemen will not stop before Yemeni people observed security and stability was restored in the country that borders Saudi Arabia.
He called on the Houthi militias to return the state's arms, warning that the "Houthi aggression" posed a grave threat to the security of the Arab region.
In his speech King salman stressed the necessity that the Arab region remained clear of nuclear weapons.
On another note, King Salman called for the restructuring and developing of the Arab League.
"Terrorism and fundamentalism (in Yemen) is being led by regional nations aiming to take control" of the country, he said.
The King was speaking to Arab leaders gathered at the summit talks in Egypt two days after his nation began leading an Arab coalition airiel offensive on Houthi rebels who had taken control of Yemen in a military coup.
He said that the 10 nations - which include five Gulf states, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Sudan and Pakistan - had decided to join 'Operation Decisive Storm' in order to ensure Yemen's security, sovereignty and stability and to hit back at the Houthis, who are "targeting the region as a whole." In the meantime, he said "Riyadh opens its doors to all Yemeni political factions willing to ensure the security of Yemen," going on to point out the necessity of reinstating the internationally-backed Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative for political reform in Yemen.
King Salman said that "the Palestinian issue remains at the top of our (Arab) concerns," and that Saudi Arabia's unwavering position on the matter is based on achieving a just peace in the region through the Palestinian people's regaining of their legitimate rights.
These rights are "establishing an independent state, with Jerusalem as its capital, according to international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002, which was welcomed by the international community.
"Saudi Arabia views that the time has come," he said, "for the international community to bear its responsibilities through issuing a Security Council resolution adopting the Arab Peace Initiative and for a senior international envoy to be assigned with following up on the execution of a related resolution." About Syria, he said that any efforts aimed at ending the conflict should be based on the Geneva I declaration, while expressing his nation's clear stance on completely ridding the region of nuclear weapons. (pickup previous) ms.sd