Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal expressed the Kingdom's willingness to open its embassy in Iraq when the security situation improves there. Addressing a press conference with visiting British Foreign Secretary David Miliband here Wednesday, Prince Saud stressed that it was purely because of security and not political reasons. This is not an indication of a lack of support for the push to preserve Iraqi unity and independence, he said. He also expressed concern about Israel's continued policy of mass punishment and imposition of blockade on the Gaza Strip and the resulting suffering for the Palestinian people. He condemned Israel's expansion of settlements in the West Bank in a policy totally contradicting the international agreements. Prince Saud said he and Miliband discussed regional and international issues among them the 3rd broad meeting of foreign ministers of countries neighboring Iraq. They also reviewed the Lebanese crisis and results of the special meeting on Lebanon which was held Tuesday night in Kuwait. He said the Iranian nuclear dossier and its complications were among the subject they discussed. “We appreciate the efforts of the European Union to settle the matter peacefully and we are in agreement on the importance of making the Mideast free from weapons of mass destruction, and the right of the region's countries for the peaceful use of nuclear energy that agree with the criteria and measures of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and under its supervision,” the foreign minister said. __
