S Arabia to Survive ‘2,000 Years’ without US, Crown Prince Tells Trump
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman said Saudi Arabia could survive for 2,000 years on its own and without the support of the US.
“...if you look at the United States of America, when for example they wanted to free the slaves. What was the price? Civil war. It divided America for a few years. Thousands, tens of thousands of people died to win freedom for the slaves,” Bin Salman told Bloomberg, in a wide-ranging interview published Friday.
“Here we are trying to get rid of extremism and terrorism without civil war, without stopping the country from growing, with continuous progress in all elements,” the crown prince claimed. “So if there is a small price in that area, it’s better than paying a big debt to do that move.”
Bin Salman brushed off US President Donald Trump’s humiliating comments about Saudi Arabia perishing within two weeks without American support, claiming that his kingdom existed decades before the US and will need “something like around 2,000 years to maybe face some dangers.”
“Actually, we will pay nothing for our security," the prince firmly stated, explaining that since Trump’s statements were clearly addressed to a domestic audience he did not find them offensive.
“We believe that all the armaments we have from the United States of America are paid for, it’s not free armament,” he reiterated.
Explaining that, after Trump became US president, Saudi Arabia has already agreed to procure nearly 60 percent of its arms from Washington, he emphasized that Riyadh owes nothing extra because it always pays for weapons supplies in cash.
“I love working with him. I really like working with him,” bin Salman said of Trump, calling his comments a “one percent” disagreement between allies.
