Military

DATE=9/20/01

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-280813

TITLE=BUSH / SAUDI ARABIA (L ONLY)

BYLINE=SCOTT STEARNS

DATELINE=WHITE HOUSE

CONTENT:

VOICED AT:

INTRO: President Bush has met with Saudi Arabia's foreign minister as part of his continuing effort to build an international coalition against terrorism. V-O-A's Scott Stearns at the White House reports Saudi Arabia says it hopes Afghanistan's Taleban government will agree to hand over suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden.

TEXT: Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal says Saudi Arabia will do everything it can to fight what he called "this scourge of terrorism." Following an Oval Office meeting with President Bush, the Saudi foreign minister said this will be a persistent battle to remove the financial and physical infrastructure that terrorists rely on.

He said the coalition must focus on bringing to justice those responsible without creating a battle between Western allies and the Arab world.

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This fight against terrorism should be guided by the principle of bringing the perpetrators, identifying them and bringing them to justice, and that it should in no way follow the objectives of the terrorists themselves in creating an unbridgeable gap between the Western world and the Islamic world.

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President Bush says Mr. bin Laden is the prime suspect in last week's terrorist attacks. Mr. Bush wants Afghanistan's Taleban leadership to hand him over and close terrorist training camps. Taleban leaders say that request is a "pretext" to destroy them. Muslim clerics in Afghanistan say Mr. bin Laden should not be extradited without proof that he is connected with the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal says Saudi Arabia has asked the Taleban to turn over Mr. bin Laden in the past. He hopes something more will come of these latest requests to extradite the Saudi dissident.

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There have been many efforts to persuade them in the past by Saudi Arabia that have not achieved results. We have seen the efforts expended in the last few days by Pakistan. We are still hopeful that Taleban will accept the wisdom of handing over criminals to face justice.

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Saudi Arabia's role in the international coalition is crucial for the United States as it tries to rally Arab support in the fight against terrorism. White House officials say Saudi Arabia has agreed to cooperate with the investigation into last week's attacks and to help stabilize world oil prices at a time when the U-S economy is dropping. (Signed)

NEB/SKS/JWH