Iraq describes Saudi crown prince's statements on Saddam Hussein as irresponsible

Iraq on Sunday described as irresponsible statements made by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz in which he said Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had not learned from his mistakes and still constitutes a danger to stability in the Gulf region.

Spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Culture and Information said, "If the Saudi regime had learned from its mistakes, the Saudi crown prince would not have made such irresponsible statements." The spokesman added that without the Iraqi president and the "great Iraqi army, several monarchies in the region would have collapsed."

Replying to the statement made by Crown Prince Abdullah that sanctions against Baghdad will continue as long as the Iraqi government refuses to abide by UN Security Council resolutions, the Iraqi spokesman added, "It is not the crown prince's saying. He would rather heard it from friends and allies whom he met recently. If he would have read, heard and seen he would know that Iraq had fulfilled its complete obligations towards the UN Security Council resolution."

On June 7, Saudi Arabia said it intended to offer humanitarian aid to the Iraqi people, but Baghdad at the same time refused to accept the aid. It called upon countries who want to send it aid to help instead in lifting the embargo imposed on Iraq since 1990.