RIYADH, Oct 15: Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has again voiced Riyadh’s concern about Tehran’s growing role in Iraq. In an interview with US television channel ABC, aired on Friday, King Abdullah said: “We hope that Iran will not become an obstacle to peace and security in Iraq. This is what we hope for and this is what we believe the Iraqi (people) hope for.”
The king also made a thinly-disguised call on Baghdad to take into account the concerns of the Sunni community in the legislation process.
“Iraq is composed of various ethnic and religious groups and factions. What we ask for is that justice and equality prevail among all of the ethnic groups in Iraq.”
“We believe that all Iraq is one country in which all Iraqis live in peace and justice,” said King Abdullah in the interview.
However, his comments were less pessimistic and considerably toned down than those of Foreign Minister Prince Saud al Faisal in September when he warned that ‘all the dynamics are pulling the country (Iraq) apart’.
During a wide-ranging interview, the Saudi king also reiterated his determination to eliminate Al Qaeda even if the battle took decades to win, condemning the terror network as ‘the work of the devil’.
King Abdullah insisted Saudi Arabia was doing all it could to halt terror following the Sept 11 attacks in the United States.
He said Saudi Arabia would ‘fight the terrorists and those who support them or condone their actions for 10, 20 or 30 years if we have to, until we eliminate this scourge’.
King Abdullah, seen by some observers as a relative moderate in the Saudi ruling family, was unsparing in condemnation of the Al Qaeda.
“Madness and evil, it is the work of the devil,” he said.
According to official Saudi figures, at least 90 civilians, 47 security personnel and 121 militants have died in clashes with militants.
King Abdullah reaffirmed that Riyadh would work to bring down oil prices, whose rise he admitted had helped Saudi Arabia while damaging other countries.
Defending Saudi oil policy, King Abdullah said his government was now producing almost 10 million barrels a day to meet increasing demand and to bring down prices.
“Without a doubt we have benefited financially, but we believe that the damage to other countries is tremendous and we don’t believe that the prices should be at these levels,” the king said.
He said he had dispensed with the traditional royal protocol of having subjects kiss the king’s hand. “I have tremendous distaste for such matters because I believe that one only bows before God, not another human being.”
King Abdullah described US President George Bush as a ‘friend whose friendship I value and treasure’, but also did not shy away from criticizing aspects of US foreign policy.
“The Saudi people have some disagreements with the United States, in particular when it comes to the issue of the Palestinian question, the war in Afghanistan and the war with Iraq,” he said.
Commenting on the issue of women’s Rights, the Saudi king said it may take some time before women could be allowed to drive a car.
“I believe strongly in the rights of women, my mother is a woman, my sister is a woman, my daughter is a woman, my wife is a woman.
“I believe the day will come when women drive,” the king said in his first television interview since acceding to the throne after the death of King Fahd on Aug 1.
King Abdullah noted that women drive in Saudi Arabia’s deserts and in rural areas.
“The issue will require patience,” he said. “In time, I believe it will be possible. And I believe patience is a virtue.”
The ABC News, in a commentary on the interview, said King Abdullah ‘appears determined to present American viewers with a new vision of Saudi Arabia’, citing his readiness to be interviewed by a woman.
