RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Riyadh brushed off suggestions it would take Iran's place as an oil supplier to China to get Beijing to back a Western-backed sanctions effort against Tehran.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traveled to the Middle East in part to lobby for support for sanctions targeting Iran.
Washington ramped up the sanctions effort after Tehran announced its decision to enrich uranium to 20 percent. A nuclear bomb requires 90 percent enrichment, though 20 percent is considered a technological milestone.
Veto-wielding Beijing, however, is a key trading partner with Tehran, importing more than 10 percent of its crude oil from Iran. Clinton said China "gets a healthy percentage" of its oil from Iran and a "trade-off" was needed to bring Beijing on board.
Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal brushed off a question regarding whether Riyadh was ready to make up for oil shortages should supplies from Iran diminish as a result of sanctions.
Instead, the prince said during a news conference with Clinton that while Chinese and Saudi relations were "close" the issue was not strictly bilateral.
"(W)e see the issue in the shorter term, maybe because we are closer to the threats than that," he said of the effectiveness of sanctions. "So we need immediate resolutions rather than gradual resolution to this regard."
