“The UN Security Council’s failure to pass a resolution in support of the Arab Initiative must not prevent the taking of critical measures to protect innocent lives and stop the bloodshed and all acts of violence that threaten serious consequences for the Syrian people and regional stability,” the Cabinet said in a statement, Monday.
The meeting was presided over by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
Riyadh “appeals to the international community not to stop exerting sincere efforts to find a solution to this crisis that has killed thousands of Syrians and threatens to cause a humanitarian disaster if it continues,” the statement said.
Russia and China, both permanent members of the Security Council, Saturday vetoed a UN resolution condemning Syria for its deadly crackdown on protests, drawing condemnation from other global powers.
Dr. Yousuf Bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen, Minister of Social Affairs and Acting Minister of Culture and Information, said the King briefed the Cabinet on his talks with Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director, and the message he received from Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.
On local issues, Al-Othaimeen said, the Cabinet lauded the arrangements for the 27th Janadriya Festival to be patronized by King Abdullah on Wednesday. The ministers lauded the King’s directive to cancel the operetta and the Ardha dance from the Janadriya program in solidarity with the brothers in Syria, Yemen, Libya and Tunisia in the wake of painful incidents taking place in those countries.
The ministers also prayed to Allah to preserve the security and stability of all Arab and Islamic countries.
The ministers also underlined the importance of the symposium on the “Humanitarian and Social Aspects in the History of King Abdul Aziz” which opened in Riyadh this week and the launch of the Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Chair for Historical and Social Studies on the Arabian Peninsula at King Saud University.
Also, the ministers approved a recommendation of the minister of higher education to sign a memorandum of understanding for scientific cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Culture in Finland. The MoU was signed in Helsinki last February.
The ministers approved the final accounts of the General Organization of the King Fahd Causeway for the fiscal year 2010-11.
