Saudi Arabia, US committed to same goal in Mideast

The US reaffirmed its partnership with Saudi Arabia on Monday, noting that the two countries share the same goals when it comes to Syria, Iran, and Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. "I think one of the hallmarks of a good partnership is the ability to have quite frank conversations, even, maybe, when we disagree about these very important issues; that's certainly the case with the Saudis and others," said State Department Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf. Harf was responding to recent comments by former Saudi ambassador to the US Prince Turki Al-Faisal, on whether American influence in the region has waned. "We remain engaged and we do have an important role to play," she stressed. "Obviously we all are incredibly concerned and frustrated by the situation in Syria and are working towards a Geneva II conference to get a political transition there," said Harf. "We and the Saudis and others are working very hard towards that end. If you look at Iran -- I mean, we can talk about how hard we've all worked to get this first-step agreement, and quite frankly, the Saudis and others in the region have long said that the P5+1 should just be focused on the nuclear issue and not talk about broader regional issues." Harf further pointed to the deal to confiscate Syria's chemical weapons, calling it a positive step for the US and Saudi Arabia. "The fact that if the largest chemical weapons stockpile in the world is gone, that's good for regional security and certainly something that's good for Saudi security as well," she said. "It's not a secret that we talk about these issues with senior Saudi officials all the time when there are disagreements, we all talk about them openly. That's what people that work together do," she concluded.