Iraqi government condemns former Saudi official’s statements

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Iraqi government on Sunday denounced on Sunday the “irresponsible and personal” statements made by the former Saudi intelligence chief Turki al-Faisal in which he accused Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of trying to hijack the results of the country’s recent legislative elections. “The statements only wronged the head of the Iraqi government and were nothing but flagrant interference in Iraq’s internal affairs,” the Iraqi government’s official spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh was quoted in a statement received by IraqiNews.com news agency. “These statements do not express the positive orientations offered by officials in Saudi Arabia to Iraqi officials who have recently visited the kingdom,” Dabbagh added. AmR (P) 2