JEDDAH: Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior Prince Naif has rejected charges by the Iraqi government that Riyadh was allowing Saudis to join Iraq’s Sunni insurgency. He urged Baghdad to improve border security.
In remarks published yesterday in the local Arabic press, Prince Naif said the Kingdom wants only what is in Iraq’s best interests.
“The Iraqi government knows where the (foreign) fighters come from,” said Prince Naif, denying claims that Saudis are infiltrating Iraq.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki said on Thursday that Iraq’s efforts to build diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia had not been reciprocated and more would be “useless” without a change of heart from Riyadh.
“The Kingdom wants only the good and stability of Iraq in all aspects but if there is someone in Iraq working against its interest and expecting the Kingdom to support him, this will not happen,” Prince Naif said.
“The Kingdom does what is in the best interest of Iraq and its people and the return of Iraq to its unity and sovereignty,” he added.
Prince Naif made the statements after visiting the Princess Al-Jowhara charity in Dammam.
He urged Iraq to improve border security to prevent the infiltration of Iraqis into Saudi Arabia.
Saudi officials say the security situation in Iraq has been the main impediment to reciprocating Iraqi moves toward resuming full diplomatic ties, broken after Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
Iraq reopened its embassy in Riyadh in February 2007.
Last month, Riyadh accepted the appointment of Iraq’s first ambassador to the Kingdom since 1991. “We succeeded in opening ourselves to many countries, but Saudi Arabia has negative positions,” Al-Maliki said in a statement on the government’s website.
