CAIRO, March 28 (RIA Novosti) - The king of Saudi Arabia, one of Washington's few allies in the Middle East, joined the chorus of other Arab leaders Wednesday by calling for the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq.
The Arabic satellite television channel Al Jazeera quoted King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz as calling the continued military presence in Iraq "illegal" - the strongest pronouncement to date from a Saudi leader on U.S. policies in the country.
Speaking at the opening of an Arab League summit in Riyadh, the Saudi monarch said brethren's blood was still being shed in Iraq against the backdrop of an illegal foreign occupation, and urged other Arab nations to help stop the violence there.
