Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshayr Zebari on Thursday rejected remarks by Saudi Arabia that the US occupation of Iraq was illegal. '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,' Zebari said on the sidelines of the Arab summit being held in Riyadh.
The minister added that he does not support a pullout of the US- led multi-national forces. His remarks came in response to an earlier statement by Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdel-Aziz who rejected the US presence. 'In our beloved Iraq, blood is spilled between brothers, under the shadow of a foreign illegal occupation,' the Saudi monarch said during the opening session of the Arab League Summit on Wednesday.
Zebari also said that he was hopeful that there would be another Iraq reconciliation meeting at the end of April, either in Baghdad, Cairo or Istanbul. The last international meeting held in Baghdad was deemed 'fruitful' and important, Zebari said, because it featured the presence of Syrian, Iranian and US delegations. |