Saudi Arabia said yesterday it was exploring opening an embassy in Baghdad, a move long requested by Washington.

At a joint news conference with the US secretaries of state and defense, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said Saudi Arabia, a key US ally under pressure from Washington to back the Iraqi government, would look at opening an embassy in Baghdad for the first time since the 2003 invasion that brought down Saddam Hussein, eventually bringing Iranian-allied Shi'ite Muslims to power.

"To support the government of Iraq ... we decided to send a delegation to see how to establish our embassy in Baghdad," he said, speaking through an interpreter. He gave no more details.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice welcomed the move, saying it was an "important step" Washington had encouraged.

The US officials, who held talks with King Abdullah on Tuesday night, are on a stopover in Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, to push for more support for the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

But Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Muslim-led Arab countries want Iraq to do more to include Sunni Muslims in the political process and end Iranian influence and signs of the differences were evident at Wednesday's news conference.

(China Daily via agencies August 2, 2007)