During a meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah Al Saud on Tuesday, Tunisian President Kais Saied warned of a “new Sykes-Picot” agreement in the Middle East.
He used the term to refer to the secret 1916 pact between Britain and France that carved up Arab territories after World War I.
Beyond discussions on strengthening bilateral ties between Tunisia and Saudi Arabia, President Saied expanded his remarks to address the regional situation. He claimed that after the 20th-century division of the Arab world, the “Zionist movement” is now trying to destroy the very existence of Arab states.
The president reaffirmed Tunisia’s “constant and total” support for the Palestinian cause, calling for an independent state with Al-Quds al-Sharif (Jerusalem) as its capital. He condemned what he called “crimes of extermination” committed by Israel, including the targeting of civilians, starvation of the population, and forced displacement. Saied insisted that “the land of Palestine is neither an estate nor an orchard” and that the people’s desire for liberation would ultimately succeed.
He also stated that the global popular protests against violence in Palestine signal the emergence of a new international legitimacy that will eventually replace what he views as an “obsolete and weakened” global system.
MK/ac/Sf/fss/abj/APA