JEDDAH, 21 March 2003 — The Kingdom expressed its “deep concern and regret” over the US-led military operations against Iraq yesterday.
Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal spoke of the “Kingdom’s hope for a quick halt to military action and for the return to peaceful efforts,” according to the Saudi Press Agency.
In the first Saudi reaction to the start of the US-led war, Prince Saud emphasized that Iraq’s “unity, internal security and territorial integrity” must be preserved, and rejected a military occupation of Iraq by US-led forces.
Prince Saud reiterated that the Kingdom’s stance would be “under no circumstances to take part in the war against Iraq,” again saying that “its armed forces will not enter an inch of Iraqi territory.”
The Jeddah-based Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) also called for an immediate end to the war on Iraq and a diplomatic solution to the standoff.
“The OIC deeply regrets the latest developments in Iraq and for an immediate end to military operations and a return (to diplomacy) to try to find a peaceful solution through the UN Security Council,” Secretary-General Abdulwahed Belkeziz said.
He also urged the return to Iraq of UN weapons inspectors, who were pulled out in the final hours before the United States launched the war earlier yesterday to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
“War is never the best way to resolve conflicts,” he said, adding that it would “add to the suffering of the Iraqi people and upset the stability of the Middle East region”.
The secretary-general of the 57-member group also said that the war would “increase terrorism and extremism in the world.”
At a recent summit, the OIC condemned any US attack on Baghdad, even though several of its members are providing facilities for the use of US and British forces to carry out the campaign.
