RIYADH, 16 April 2003 — Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, held talks here yesterday with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw on the situation in war-ravaged Iraq.
Prince Abdullah and Straw discussed the “current situation in Iraq and developments in the region,” the Saudi Press Agency reported. Straw also delivered a letter from British Prime Minister Tony Blair to the crown prince.
The meeting at Al-Yamamah Palace was attended by Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Saudi Ambassador to Britain Prince Turki Al-Faisal and British Ambassador to Riyadh Derek Plumbly.
Straw earlier met separately with Prince Saud and “reviewed regional developments, particularly the situation in Iraq and its consequences,” SPA said.
The talks also covered “the Palestinian problem and the importance of kick-starting the peace process, in addition to bilateral issues.”
The British foreign secretary later left Riyadh after a Gulf tour that also took him to Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait, where his talks also focused on post-Saddam Iraq.
The Kingdom, which opposed the US-British war on Iraq, has said that the Iraqi people must be allowed to choose their own government and decide their own future.
