Washington: US Vice President Joe Biden called Saudi Arabia’s foreign affairs minister on Tuesday and “clarified” his diplomatic gaffe in which he suggested that Saudi Arabia and other key allies had financed Daesh, the White House said.
Biden already apologised to the leaders of the two other countries, Turkey and the UAE, which, like Saudi Arabia are key members of the US-led coalition taking on Daesh in Syria and Iraq.
The remarks caused consternation in the Middle East and brought up questions in Washington as to whether they would dampen the resolve of US allies who have signed up to fight the militant group, which has overrun large swaths of Syria and Iraq in recent months.
The vice president thanked Foreign Affairs Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal for Saudi Arabia’s cooperation in the international coalition, a White House official said.
Biden also “clarified” his remarks regarding how the conflict first unfolded in Syria, the official added, saying both officials agreed the issue had been closed.
In his comments, Biden referred to Turkey and its leader President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as well as Saudi Arabia and the Emiratis as friends.
But he said they been so determined to topple Syrian President Bashar Al Assad that they had “poured hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of tonnes of weapons into anyone who would fight against” him.
“Except the people being supplied were Al Nusra and Al Qaida and extremist elements of [militants] coming from other parts of the world,” Biden said.
