Jamal added, “The Iraqi-Saudi ties are fully developed, and Iraq is keen to promote them. Saudi Arabia is an important border country, and ties must necessarily be balanced.”
Khaled al-Assadi, a member of Iraq’s parliamentary foreign affairs committee, told Al-Monitor, “Raising issues and decisions deemed unacceptable by some member states taking part in the Arab League meetings is unprofessional, and Iraq has the right to object to such conduct.”
He said, “A sectarian agenda is behind decisions that ignite a political or sectarian crisis in the region. Iraq does not and will not accept them, considering that such decisions [diminish] Iraq’s role in promoting peace in the Arab region.” Assadi added, “Saudi Arabia is dealing with Iraq based on a sectarian agenda, which would harm bilateral ties. This is although we believe that having different views does not prejudice anyone. Rather, it is perceived as a healthy situation.”
Speaking to Al-Monitor, Ihsan al-Shammari, a political science professor at Baghdad University, predicted the disagreement will not fracture Iraq's relationship with Gulf countries.
“Iraq has sovereignty in foreign decision-making. It does not want to be a dependent state or to be involved in a Gulf-Iranian conflict," he said. "[Iraq] prefers to not interfere in other Arab countries’ affairs.”
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