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 Saudi
crown prince dies
Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and
aviation, died Saturday outside the Kingdom following a prolonged
illness, the Royal Court announced. He was 80. The late prince's
funeral will take place Tuesday. »
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Jeddah:
Messages of condolences poured in from world leaders, expressing
their shock and sorrow and sense of loss.
Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and
aviation, died Saturday outside the Kingdom following a prolonged
illness. He was 80.
Jordan’s King Abdallah called Saudi
King to express his condolences. He said he was shocked to hear the sad news. “Jordan, which
holds Prince Sultan in high esteem, commends his services to the
Kingdom and Arab and Islamic causes,” he said. The king opened a
World Economic Forum in the country's Dead Sea resort town with a
minute of silence in the late prince's honor.
Kuwait said it would mark the prince's death with three days of
official mourning.
In a statement issued by the White
House, US President Barack Obama also expressed his "deepest
condolences" on the death of the ailing Saudi Crown Prince, Sultan
bin Abdul Aziz.
"It was with great regret that I
learned of the passing of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abd al-Aziz of
Saudi Arabia," Xinhua quoted Obama as saying in the statement.
The president said the crown prince, as defence and aviation
minister for almost 50 years, dedicated himself to the welfare and
security of his people and country, and was a valued friend of the
US.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on a trip to the Central
Asian nation of Tajikistan, said the prince would be "missed,"
stressing Washington's enduring ties with the Kingdom. "I offer my
deepest condolences for this loss to King Abdullah and the Saudi
people," she said. "He will be missed."
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "saddened" to
hear of Prince Sultan's death. "He had many friends in this
country, and we have all benefited from his wisdom and expertise
in international affairs over his long years of service," the
prime minister said.
Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, wrote to King
Abdullah, his Clarence House office said. "The Prince of Wales
sent a personal letter of condolence to the king of Saudi Arabia
expressing his deep sadness at the news," a spokesman said.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas described the death of Prince
Sultan a great loss to the Palestinian cause. "With the death of
Crown Prince Sultan, the Kingdom and our Islamic and Arab nation
lost an outstanding leader, a wise statesman who devoted his life
for the service of his homeland, religion and the humanity," Abbas
said in a letter to King Abdullah.
"We will remember with gratitude, pride and appreciation the
deceased's positions, commitment and support toward our people by
all means and on all political, material and moral levels", Abbas
said.
Abbas added: "With his death, Palestine lost a dear and a strong
supporter."
Syrian President Bashar Assad also sent condolences to King
Abdullah.
From Iran, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi sent condolences,
expressing "sympathy to his counterpart and the deceased's next of
kin," media reported.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she had learned of
the prince's death "with great sadness" and offered her "sincere
condolences and deepest sympathy to the Kingdom and its people for
the great loss."
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said: "He served the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for many years with great dignity and
dedication. His contribution to the prosperity and development of
the Kingdom will long be remembered."
Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari said: "Pakistan has been
deprived of a great friend." In a separate message, Prime Minister
Yousaf Raza Gilani said the people of Pakistan joined him in
extending their heartfelt condolences by sharing the grief of the
Saudi royal family.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) described him as
“one of the great sagacious leaders of the Islamic Ummah, who had
devoted his generosity-marked life in the service of his nation
and the Islamic Ummah.” OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu
sent a cable of condolences to King Abdullah.
Prince Sultan was the seventh of the
36 sons of King Abdul-Aziz bin Saud, who united and founded Saudi
Arabia in 1932. Like Nayef and the deceased former King Fahd, he
was a member of the "Sudairi Seven," the powerful alliance of
seven surviving sons of Abdul-Aziz and one of his wives, Princess
Hissa Al Sudairi.
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