(Reuters-New York Times) At the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon initially accused Saudi Arabia's Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former Saudi intelligence chief and envoy to Washington and London, of orchestrating a decision to keep him off a joint panel with Turki. Ayalon began his talk saying it appeared "a representative of a country with a lot of oil" had pressed the organizers to separate the panel into two separate sessions because he "did not want to sit with us." This showed a lack of mutual respect and tolerance, he said. In a subsequent session, when Turki stood up and said it was not he who had objected, Ayalon responded: "If indeed it was not him who objected to my being here with him, I would welcome him to shake my outstretched hand." Turki approached the podium, Ayalon descended from it, and the two smiled and shook hands.
2010-02-08 07:57:12Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive