Iraqi officials offered no explanation on Monday after a promised first Saudi royal visitor since the 1991 Gulf war failed to land at Baghdad airport as promised.
No Saudi royal was aboard the 7 p.m. arrival of the United Arab Emirates airline Gulf Falcon, which the Iraqi information ministry had said the pioneering prince would use, according to AFP.
Nor was there any representative of the house of Saud aboard the last scheduled arrival of the day at the capital's Saddam International Airport at 11 p.m.
Meanwhile, press center officials ducked all requests for an explanation from journalists and photographers who had camped out at the terminal throughout the day following its announcement of the groundbreaking visit Sunday.
Earlier Monday, Saudi officials had poured cold water on the Iraqi announcement, insisting that no representative of the royal family would be visiting Baghdad in any formal capacity. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
