From rxpgnews.com
US, Iraq reject Saudi king's comments on 'occupation'
By DPA,
Mar 30, 2007 - 10:37:07 AM
Washington/Riyadh, March 30 - The US and Iraq have flatly rejected charges by Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz-Al-Saud that the US presence in Iraq amounts to an 'illegal occupation'.
In a sign of strained relations between traditional friends, Abdullah strongly criticised the US during the Arab League summit in Riyadh while raising concerns about the bloodshed in Iraq.
Washington and Baghdad responded by saying Thursday that US troops are in Iraq under a UN mandate and at the invitation of the Iraqi government to help quell the violence that has ravaged the country since the US-led invasion in March 2003.
'We don't think there is an illegal occupation, because these forces are present and working according to international resolutions and are accepted by a representative, elected Iraqi government,' Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshayr Zebari said on the sidelines of the summit.
Abdullah opened the summit Wednesday by urging the Arab world to settle differences or face continued US dominance of the Middle East, while questioning the legitimacy of US efforts in Iraq.
'In our beloved Iraq, blood is spilled between brothers under the shadow of a foreign illegal occupation,' the monarch said.
The US and Saudi Arabia cooperate on a wide range of issues including the war on terrorism, White House spokesperson Dana Perino said.
'It is not accurate to say that the US is occupying Iraq. We are there at the invitation of the sovereign government of Iraq that was democratically elected,' Perino said, acknowledging that Washington and Riyadh sometimes disagree on policy.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Abdullah had cancelled an April 17 dinner in his honour with President George W. Bush at the White House. The Saudi embassy, however, said there were never plans for Abdullah to come to Washington.
US State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack said the US embassy in Riyadh was seeking clarification from the Saudi government on what Abdullah met by the remarks.
'We certainly had not seen that particular phrase before coming out, talking about illegal occupation,' McCormack said.
'We have a very good relationship with Saudi Arabia,' he said, pointing out that Abdullah has visited Bush at his ranch in Texas, one of the highest gestures Bush grants to the closest friends of the US.
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