US vice president, secretary of state talk with Saudi crown prince on Iraqi tensions

US Vice President Al Gore and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on Tuesday spoke on the telephone with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz to discuss the recently escalating crisis with Iraq.

US State Department spokesman James Rubin was quoted as saying that Albright phoned Crown Prince Abdullah to assert the "grave" situation. The spokesman did not give more details about the call.

"We are confident we will have the support we need to take appropriate action to support the United Nations. That is based on the discussions Secretary Albright and Secretary Cohen have had with the Saudi leadership," Rubin said.

About Cohen's consultations with other Gulf states, Rubin said, "They were productive meetings, and we are sensing strong support from them for taking a united stand against Saddam Hussein."

On Saturday, Iraq halted relations with UNSCOM, called for the resignation of UNSCOM chairman Richard Butler and for restructuring of the committee.