Saudi Arabia said today Arab countries were ready to back a US plan to stabilise Iraq but insisted that only Iraqis can make it succeed.
Dr Condoleezza Rice
"We agree fully with the goals set by the new strategy, which in our view are the goals that - if implemented - would solve the problems that face Iraq," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said at a news conference with visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Riyadh.
"(But) implementation also requires a (positive) response by the Iraqis themselves to these goals. . . . Other countries can help but the main responsibility in taking decisions rests on the Iraqis," he added.
Dr Rice, in Saudi Arabia as part of regional tour to drum up support for US President Bush's decision to send more than 21,000 new troops to stabilise Iraq, also said it was up to Iraqis to make the plan a success.
She said she planned to discuss Arab efforts to help Mr Bush's plan succeed at a meeting with the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan and the six Gulf Cooperation Council members - Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates - in Kuwait later today.
"We will continue to work with the Iraqi government to make sure networks running dangerous militias are stopped," Dr Rice said in Riyadh.