US-Saudi ties healthy despite king's remarks

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia's foreign minister on Wednesday said that the kingdom's ties with the United States are healthy despite comments by the Saudi king calling the American troops' presence in Iraq an 'illegitimate occupation.'

King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz's denunciation of the occupation - made in a speech to an Arab summit in Riyadh last month -raised concerns that the monarch was growing disillusioned with US policy over the Mideast's numerous crises, including Iraq.

In an interview with ABC television's Good Morning America, Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal said the king's comments were not meant as "attacking" Washington.

"There is more that binds us together than the differences we have. The king is a very frank person," Prince Saud said. "He's a believer that friends are those who tell each other the truth. We are now in a healthier relation between our two countries," Prince Saud said. He added that it was up to the Iraqi government to decide when American forces should leave Iraq.

The king's comments were seen by many as an attempt to show Arabs that Saudi Arabia is not toeing a US line as the kingdom takes a more assertive role in trying to resolve Mideast crises.