NATO courts Saudis in bid to curb Iran threat

NATO appealed to Saudi Arabia yesterday to consider entering a cooperation agreement with the Western alliance, citing shared interest in stopping weapons proliferation in an apparent reference to Iran.

“NATO would very much value the participation of Saudi Arabia,” NATO Deputy Secretary-General Alessandro Minuto Rizzo said at a meeting with Gulf Arab states in Riyadh.

He was referring to the Istanbul Initiative of 2004, when the 26-nation alliance launched a drive to establish closer links with Middle East and North African countries. The initiative received a cool response after the US-led invasion of Iraq.