In an exceptionally blunt remark, Saudi Prince Turki said Wednesday, ”The current charade of international control over Bashar's chemical arsenal would be funny if it were not so blatantly perfidious. And designed not only to give Mr. Obama an opportunity to back down (from military strikes), but also to help Assad to butcher his people." Turki, a member of the Saudi royal family and former director of intelligence, added: "The shift away from the U.S. is a major one. Saudi doesn't want to find itself any longer in a situation where it is dependent."
This message was also conveyed by Prince Bandar bin Sultan, current head of Saudi intelligence to European envoys summoned to Jeddah earlier this week. In Paris, US Secretary of State John Kerry invited Turki’s brother, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, to lunch Tuesday to voice regret over Riyadh’s rejection of UN Security Council nonpermanent membership and call Saudi anger over over Washington’s Middle East policies on Syria and Iran..