US President George W Bush refused to accept a message from Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein promising to cooperate with the United States provided he was left in power, an Arabic daily reported Monday.
The London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper said the letter was to have been passed on by Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani at a brief meeting with Bush on Friday. "President Bush refused to accept the message," the paper said, citing an unidentified Arab official.
Saddam proposed to "cooperate fully with the United States over all their questions, in return for no regime change".
Asharq Al-Awsat, also citing an "informed" US source, said Saddam had already twice sent messages to the US administration via Arab governments offering "oil and security concessions for the United States as soon as they halt their military offensive."
According to Asharq Al-Awsat, Bush briefly met the Qatari foreign minister during the latter's talks on Friday with US national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, to thank him for "the support and facilities offered by Qatar" to US forces. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
