The Hindu : Quit, Riyadh tells Saddam

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 02, 2003

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Quit, Riyadh tells Saddam

WASHINGTON April 1. Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, has said that the Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein, should make a war-ending ``sacrifice'' by stepping aside.

``Since he has asked his people to sacrifice for the country, he should be the first to sacrifice for his country,'' Prince Saud told ABC News in an interview.

``If his staying in power (is) the only thing that brings problems to his country, we expect that he would respond to a sacrifice for his country, as he requires any citizen there to sacrifice for his country.''

He made the comments to the correspondent, Barbara Walters, who asked him whether the Iraqi leader had to be removed from power. Prince Saud, whose country strongly opposes the war even though it is a key U.S. ally, repeated earlier calls for a halt to the fighting to make room for more diplomacy.

``This war can only lead to strife, to bloodshed and to increased hatred, and increased anxieties in the region,'' he said. ``Perhaps, this is a good time to stop, take a breath, and allow for diplomacy to work.'' The United States, he added, ``has to do some reckoning for the advice that it has had.'' — Reuters

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