Saudi Arabia holds back Iraq ambassador

BAGHDAD, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Saudi Arabia said it would delay sending its ambassador to Baghdad, suggesting the country was not yet safe enough to restore full diplomatic ties.

"It's only the security issue," Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting with his counterpart in the European Union, Javier Solana.

Several Arab states have moved this year to restore diplomatic ties with Baghdad. Kuwait Wednesday presented its new ambassador to Baghdad 18 years after Saddam Hussein invaded the country. The new Jordanian ambassador, Nayef Zeidan, took his position in Baghdad last week.

Relations between Iraq and Saudi Arabia are historically tense. The U.S. Institute of Peace, a congressionally funded think tank in Washington, says oil diplomacy, as well as differences between the Shiite population in Iraq and the Wahhabi sect of the Sunni religion in Saudi Arabia, create problematic issues that will hamper relations for the foreseeable future.

Washington has encouraged Iraq's Arab neighbors to move to restore diplomatic relations with Iraq as the security situation becomes stable in the post-Saddam era.

Iranian Press TV noted Wednesday that Iran was the first regional country to restore ties with Iraq following the fall of the former regime in 2003.