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SAUDI-IRAQ-DIPLOMACY
Saudi crown prince hosts Iraq PM for talks on oil attacks
RIYADH, Sept 26, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
hosted Iraq’s Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi for talks on Wednesday focused
on attacks on the kingdom’s oil infrastructure, which Washington has blamed
on Iran.
“The meeting dealt with regional developments, particularly the sabotage
attacks on Saudi Aramco plants in Abqaiq and Khurais, stressing Iraqi
keenness on the security and stability of the kingdom,” the official Saudi
Press Agency reported.
The September 14 attacks on state oil giant Aramco, which initially halved
the kingdom’s crude output and sent global energy markets into a tailspin,
have escalated regional tensions.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels claimed responsibility for the strikes,
but the US says the attacks involved cruise missiles from Iran and amounted
to “an act of war”.
Baghdad, caught between its two main allies — Tehran and Washington — has
denied any link to the attacks amid reports that the assault was launched
from Iraq.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has also said there was no evidence the
attacks were launched from Iraq.
Mahdi’s expression of solidarity with Saudi Arabia comes amid a steady
warming of ties between Baghdad and Riyadh after decades of strain.
Iraqi Oil Minister Thamer al-Ghadban separately held talks Wednesday with
his Saudi counterpart Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, SPA reported.
The Gulf powerhouse severed relations and closed its border with its
northern neighbour after late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s August 1990
invasion of Kuwait.
But a flurry of visits between the two countries in recent months has
indicated a thawing of ties as Riyadh seeks to counter Iran’s strong presence
in Iraqi politics.
BSS/AFP/ARS/0923 hrs