Jordanian protests worry Saudi king

Sat Aug 27, 2011

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah Ben Abdul Aziz has expressed concerns about the persistence of protests in Jordan in a letter to the country's King Abdullah II.

“The political development in Jordan will have a negative impact on Saudi Arabia,” wrote the Saudi King in the letter to his Jordanian counterpart, Fars news agency reported.

“The status of Arab countries such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia are linked together and therefore Saudi Arabia will spare no effort to resolve Jordan's problems,” the Saudi ruler pledged.

Saudi king's letter came as protest rallies have been staged across Jordan for the past seven months in efforts to push the government to expand powers of the parliament.

Jordanians have also been demanding lower food prices, a greater participation in politics and the election of a prime minister.

The rise in anti-government protests and mounting political tension in Arab countries such of Jordan, Yemen and Bahrain have worried the US-backed Saudi kingdom and prompted King Abdullah to grant Jordan more than $1.2 billion in financial assistance since the beginning of 2011.

Saudi Arabia has been criticized over its double standards toward anti-government protests in the region. Riyadh has been a strong supporter of opposition groups in Syria, while it has deployed troops in Bahrain to help regime forces crush protesters there.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/195977.html.