Riyadh Slams 'Parties Delaying Int'l Action' on Syria

Saudi Arabia on Monday accused some countries of being complacent regarding the bloodshed in Syria.

"The kingdom holds all parties that delay international action (on Syria) morally responsible for developments there, especially if they continue being complacent and ignore the interests of the Syrian people," a statement said.

The Saudi government, during its weekly session chaired by King Abdullah, also pledged to support "any international effort" that will help protect the Syrian people.

The statement did not refer to any specific country.

But Russia and China have twice vetoed U.N. Security Council resolutions condemning a deadly crackdown on protests by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Last week, King Abdullah told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that dialogue on Syria was "futile" and that Riyadh "will never abandon its religious and moral obligations towards what's happening" in Syria.

Earlier this month Saudi Arabia and its partners in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council expelled Syria's envoys and withdrew their own from Damascus over the "mass slaughter" of civilians.

On Friday, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said at an international conference on Syria in Tunisia that he backed the idea of arming the opposition against Assad's regime.

King Abdullah had previously called for "critical measures" to be taken on Syria, warning of an impending "humanitarian disaster."

More than 7,600 people have been killed in violence across Syria since anti-regime protests erupted in March 2011, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.