Saudis warming up to Iraq?

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ABU DHABI ? Saudi Arabia appears to be signaling to Iraq that it is prepared for a reconciliation.

The signals have alarmed neighboring Iran, which last year signed a security pact with the Saudi kingdom. Kuwait also is said to be monitoring the Iraqi-Saudi contacts.

The Saudi view of Iraq was discussed during a visit by U.S. Sen. John Rockefeller to Riyadh. Rockefeller, a member of the Senate subcommittee on intelligence, met Saudi intelligence chief Prince Nawaf Ibn Abdul Aziz and Crown Prince Abdullah.

Western diplomats said Riyadh has agreed to a reconciliation effort with Iraq. But Saudi leaders insisted that Iraq also offer to reconcile with Kuwait, invaded by President Saddam Hussein's forces in 1990.

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Riyadh has become a leading opponent of any U.S.-led attack on Iraq. The diplomats said the Saudis have warned the Bush administration that such an attack would have serious repercussions on relations between the kingdom and the United States.

On Jan. 9, Saddam issued a call for reconciliation with Riyadh and Kuwait, his first such announcement since the 1991 Gulf war. Saddam's call was featured prominently in Saudi-owned newspapers on Jan. 10.

Iraqi officials said the Saudi kingdom has not objected to an Iraqi effort to discuss an improvement in relations. The officials said Iraq has agreed in principle to any dialogue to resolve such issues as missing persons from the 1991 Gulf war.

Both Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan and Foreign Minister Naji Sabri have confirmed the Saudi signals. The two officials said Iraq is ready for what they termed direct contacts with both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Sabri added that those contacts must not be under U.S. or British auspices. The foreign minister also expressed his intention to visit neighboring Iran on Jan. 26.

Iran has expressed concern over the prospect of an Iraqi-Saudi reconciliation. The two countries last year signed a security cooperation agreement that has included an exchange of intelligence.

The Iran News, which reflects the thinking of the Islamic regime, warned over the weekend that Iraq has always sought to improve relations with its neighbors during times of crisis. When the crisis passes, the daily warned, Iraq then changes its policy.

"Iraq needs as many friends in the region as it can get," the newspaper said. "Iraq has traditionally paid little or no regard to the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbors."

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