The Saudi Gambit.(Brief Article)(Interview)

Saudi Arabia's veteran foreign minister, prince Saud al-Faisal, was a central player in crucial meetings at President George W. Bush's ranch in Texas that led to long-awaited breakthroughs in the Middle East stalemate last week: the end of the siege of Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat and the beginning of serious steps toward a regional peace conference. Al-Faisal stayed in the United States after Crown Prince Abdullah and the rest of the Saudi leadership left Texas, and he remains in constant contact with the Bush administration. This week he will meet again with Secretary of State Colin Powell. Al-Faisal spoke by telephone with NEWSWEEK's Christopher Dickey.

Dickey: President Bush is under a lot of pressure from the United States Congress to give Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon a free hand in dealing with the Palestinians. In your estimate, is President Bush willing to take politically dangerous measures to pursue peace in the Middle East?

Al-Faisal: I think he's proved that in the past, and we are hopeful that he will show as much resolve in the peace process as he showed us in the talks that we had.

President Bush brought a lot of direct pressure to bear to get Arafat released from the siege of his headquarters in Ramallah. Did your meetings play a key role, or was President Bush already moving in that direction?

Well, who knows? But I think the important thing is that the discussions made us both feel the same urgencies about the situation: to return to the peace track, to resolve the occupation, to resolve the imprisonment of Mr. Yasir Arafat so that the Palestinians can enter the picture as negotiators rather than as victims. In victimizing the Palestinians, Mr. Sharon has not done any service to the security of Israel, and he has certainly damaged the image of Israel. As to Mr. Arafat, he's a much stronger figure than he was before because he was the butt of the Israeli action. So we hope that this gives everybody a lesson. Peace is the only alternative that will bring security to the Israelis and bring justice to the Palestinians.

I'm sure you've read all the reports that there are conflicts between the Pentagon and the State Department about how to proceed in the Middle East. One side advocates a freer hand for Sharon, the other supports dialogue with Arafat as the only credible leader of the Palestinians. Do you feel that tension between the two camps when you're talking to Bush? ...