“Iraq’s relations with Saudi Arabia not cold – it shall strive to boost them,” FM Zibary says:

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraq‘s Foreign Minister, Hoshiar Zibary, has said on Sunday that “the Iraqi-Saudi realtions are good and ‘not cold,’ though they had retreated, but we shall strive to boost them,” calling for the opening of a new page, especially after Iraq‘s exit from the UN Charter’s 7th Article, that had imposed financial sanctions gainst Iraq. Answering reporters questions in a joint news conference, held with Egypt’s visiting Foreign Minister, Ahmed Abul-Gheit, Zibary said: “relations between Iraq and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, are not cold, and we shall strive to build and boost them, as we have an embassy in Riyadh and a consulate in Jedda.” “There are a lot of residues that had passively affected our relations with the neighboring states and the whole world, due to the aggressive policies of the former regime, that had been reflected in the war with Iran and the invasion of Kuwait,” Zibary said. He said: “We are determined to close the page of the past and open a new page in the field of cooperation in the security, trade and consultative fields, especially in the fields of energy and technology, with our brothren and friends, especially after Iraq‘s exit from the bulk of UN Charter’s Article 7 and the end of the international sanctions imposed on it during the era of the former regime.” Iraq‘s Foreign Minister, Lubeid Abbawi, had stated early in the day that Egyptian Foreign Minister, Ahmed Abul-Gheit’s visit to Baghdad, had taken place to “boost bilateral relations and discuss the achievement of a strategic partnership between the two sisterly countries.” UA (A) / SKH 1