Saudi Arabia to explore embassy reopening in Iraq

The News ^ | Thursday, August 02, 2007 | Staff

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JEDDAH: Regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it will send a mission to Iraq to consider reopening its embassy there, a move that could help bolster the troubled Shia-led government in Baghdad.

“A diplomatic mission from the foreign ministry” will visit Baghdad to explore the possibility of reopening the embassy, Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told reporters.

He was speaking at a news conference with visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defence Secretary Robert Gates, on a tour aimed in part at seeking support for Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s government and countering Shia Iran’s influence in the region.

Saud did not give a date for the mission, which would mark a new stage in ties between Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia and Maliki’s Shia-led government, which suffered a new blow on Wednesday when six Sunni ministers quit.

Iraq reopened its embassy in Saudi Arabia last February. It had been closed in December 1990 on the eve of the 1991 Gulf War when ties were broken off by Saddam Hussein’s regime.

The two countries restored diplomatic relations in July 2004 following the US-led ouster of the Iraqi dictator the previous year.

But Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Iraq remains shut because of the insecurity in the country.

Saud also said he was “astounded” by remarks by the US ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, in which he complained that some neighbours of Iraq, including Saudi Arabia, were undermining efforts to stabilise the war-ravaged nation.

“I was astounded by what he said, especially since we had never heard from him this criticism when he was here” in the region, Saud said of Khalilzad, who was previously ambassador to Iraq.

“My explanation is that he must have been influenced by the atmosphere at the United Nations when he went to New York.”

But Saud said while Riyadh was doing what it could to help stabilise Iraq, it was incumbent on the Maliki government to achieve unity and equality for all groups, away from external meddling. “The kingdom is keen to continue supporting regional and international efforts to achieve security and stability in Iraq ... But the success of these efforts hinges on achieving social justice and national unity among Iraqis of all ethnic and religious groups,” he said.

“This places big and historic responsibilities on the Iraqi government to achieve these goals away from external interference.”

Saud said Saudi Arabia has been doing “all that we can” to protect the borders with Iraq, adding that the flow of “terrorists... is coming from Iraq to Saudi Arabia and not from Saudi Arabia to Iraq.” Saudi Arabia has also been at the centre of controversy this week after Washington announced a sharp increase in of military aid to allies in the region, including Riyadh.

US media have reported that the US government is expected to announce arms deals worth at least 20 billion dollars with Saudi Arabia and five other Gulf states.

That has brought sharp criticism from Iran, with the latest coming from Defence Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar on Wednesday.

“Selling arms to Arab nations has not worried us but foreign countries should know that if they want to take any move against (Iran) they will get a teeth-breaking answer from Iran,” he was quoted by the Mehr news agency as saying.

“The US secretary of state is trying to create an atmosphere of fear and terror in the region, but we are not worried about Muslim nations in the region having weapons.”

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Harry de Quetteville, Middle East Correspondent --- The Telegraph --- Filed: 01/10/2006 --- Security in Iraq has collapsed so dramatically that Saudi Arabia has ordered the construction of a 550-mile high-tech fence to seal off its troubled northern neighbour.