Anger as Congress implicates Saudi Arabia in 9/11

Saudi Arabia bitterly has criticised a US congressional report that implies the kingdom was complicit in the September 11 attacks…

Saudi Arabia bitterly has criticised a US congressional report that implies the kingdom was complicit in the September 11 attacks.

"How can Saudi Arabia be the main country fighting terrorism now and exchanging information that saved lives of people in the United States and at the same time assist terrorism? How is that possible?" Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal asked.

"This is illogical and unacceptable," he told a news conference in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah.

"We have answered many questions, whether on fighting terrorism or funding it ... with figures, facts and documents that leave no room for doubt, but it seems some members of the Congress are deaf when it comes to Saudi Arabia."

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Prince Saud visited Washington last week to ask US President George W Bush to declassify parts of the congressional report that dealt with Saudi Arabia. But Mr Bush refused.

Prince Saud said the main purpose of his trip was to prove that Saudi Arabia had nothing to hide.

"Where are the facts, where is the evidence? If they want to hide the truth, make false accusations and write unpublished documents here and there, we cannot deal with that," he said.

The congressional report spoke of possible links between individuals in the Saudi government and some of the September 11th hijackers, 15 of whom were Saudis.

Relations between longtime allies Riyadh and Washington hit their lowest ebb after the attacks on New York and Washington.

Prince Saud said stringent US security measures against Saudis wishing to travel or study in the United States following September 11th had harmed US and Saudi interests.

He said the kingdom's de facto ruler Crown Prince Abdullah planned to visit Syria, Egypt, Morocco and Russia on a tour to discuss the US-backed "road map" to peace between Israel and the Palestinians, as well as the future of postwar Iraq.

Prince Saud said Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas would visit Saudi Arabia tomorrow to discuss the road map.