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Iraq Slams Comments by Saudi Foreign Minister
Iraq on Friday described the call by Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal for Baghdad to implement United Nations resolutions as hypocritical.
In a statement carried by the official Iraqi News Agency, a spokesman of the Ministry of Culture and Information said that Iraq has met all obligations under the relevant UN resolutions, though the resolutions were "unfair."
The remarks by the Saudi foreign minister "stood as a disclosed heinous behaviour against Iraq," the spokesman said.
Iraq claims that it has implemented all UN resolutions and demands the lifting of UN sanctions imposed after its invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
"The Saudi regime is the last Arab regime which has the right to speak about a unifying Arab stance for its role in backing United States and British warplanes in their daily attacks against our country," the spokesman said.
The U.S. and British warplanes have been taking off from bases in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to mount daily patrols over Iraq's southern no-fly zone, set up after the 1991 Gulf War to allegedly protect the Shiite Muslims from possible attacks by Iraqi troops.
Iraq has repeatedly condemned Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as "full culprits" for allowing the U.S. and British jets to use their bases to attack Iraq.
The spokesman lashed out at the Saudi foreign minister for demanding Iraq to release Kuwaiti prisoners of war (POWs), alleged to be held by Iraq during its seven-month-long occupation of the emirate.
There have been "no POWs or hostages kept in Iraq's captivity," the spokesman said.
Kuwait says that Iraq is still holding more than 600 Kuwaiti POWs and nationals of third countries.
The Saudi foreign minister made the remarks during a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart Amr Moussa in Riyadh on Tuesday.
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