http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-07/saudi-curtain-lifted-on-diplomacy-as-syria-killings-spur-action.html

Saudi Arabia Lifts Curtain on Diplomacy as Syria Killings Spur King to Act

By Glen Carey - Mar 8, 2012

Prince Saud al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister in Cairo, on Feb. 12, 2012.

Saudi Arabia’s backing for rebels in Syria is the latest sign that Arab unrest is pushing the traditionally reticent kingdom into more active diplomacy.
Arming Syria’s opposition is an “excellent idea,” Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the world’s longest-serving foreign minister, told reporters at a meeting in Tunisia last month. King Abdullah was blunt with Russia after it blocked United Nations action on Syria, telling then-President Dmitry Medvedev that there was no point in discussing the matter.