Saudi Arabia welcomes ‘peaceful transition’ in Egypt

RIYADH – Saudi Arabia, a close ally of Hosni Mubarak, on Saturday welcomed the “peaceful transition of power” in Egypt, an official quoted by the state SPA news agency said. The conservative kingdom “welcomes the peaceful transition of power” and hopes “the efforts of Egypt’s armed forces will bring peace and stability,” he said a day after president Hosni Mubarak’s ouster.
Riyadh will support efforts to forge a “unity government that would achieve the hopes and aspirations of the brotherly Egyptian people towards security, stability and economic prosperity.” The Gulf kingdom, a key power player in the Middle East, added that it hopes Egypt “will continue to play its historic Arab, Islamic and international role.”
Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman on Friday announced the handover of power to the armed forces after an extraordinary national outpouring of rage brought more than a million furious demonstrators onto the streets.