RIYADH, April 11: Former Saudi ambassador to the United States Prince Turki Al-Faisal has accused the US Congress of being “the centre of hostility” in America toward Saudi Arabia.

“The reasons for that are many, the first of which is the Zionist lobby in the United States,” Prince Turki said at a symposium entitled “The Role of Diplomacy in Political Crises,” organised by the Saudi Association for Media and Communications here on Tuesday.

He said the lobby was powerful and had a direct impact on the decisions taken by the Congress. “The lobby supports and encourages the Congress members to take hostile stances toward Saudi Arabia,” he said.

Prince Turki said that before Sept 11, 2001, public surveys showed that 45 per cent of Americans believed that the Kingdom was a friendly nation. “After it was announced that 15 of the 19 hijackers who took part in the attacks were Saudis, public surveys showed that 60 per cent believed that Saudi Arabia was a hostile country,” he said.