U.S. President George W. Bush has told a visiting Saudi envoy that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is a menace the world is better off without, AFP reported.
Bush apparently failed to bridge the gap on the issue of Iraq in his meeting Tuesday with Saudi Ambassador Prince Bandar bin Sultan. Bush "stressed that he has made no decisions, that he will continue to engage in consultations with Saudi Arabia and other nations about steps in the Middle East, steps in Iraq," presidential spokesman Ari Fleischer said.
"The president made very clear again that he believes that Saddam Hussein is a menace to world peace, a menace to regional peace, and that the world and the region will be safer and better off without Saddam Hussein."
Earlier Tuesday, Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan called on UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to fix a date for a new round of talks on arms inspections, and expressed hope the UN Security Council would free itself from U.S. hegemony.
"The US administration has made it clear through President Bush that the problem was not the return of inspectors but the Iraqi regime," Ramadan said before heading to Syria and Lebanon to seek support against a US invasion. (Albawaba.com)
