GCC slams Iraq’s Maliki making anti-Saudi remarks

The head of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has condemned Iraqi Vice President Nuri al-Maliki’s remarks against Saudi Arabia, describing it as “irresponsible, false and heinous accusations that do not help to strengthen the Gulf-Iraqi relations,” the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported Thursday.

Maliki accused Saudi Arabia of supporting terrorism during an interview with an Iraqi satellite channel earlier this month. He also called for Saudi Arabia to be placed under the international community’s custody.

The GCC’s Secretary General Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani said Maliki’s “provocative and unrealistic” remarks were not surprising.

Saudi Arabia has long accused Maliki of sectarianism against Iraq’s Sunni population and criticized his alleged pro-Iranian tendencies.

Zayani also accused the Iraqi vice president of “sabotaging” Baghdad’s relations with other “Arab brethren” states.

He said Maliki was attempting to “separate” Iraq from “its natural Arab surroundings” to serve “foreign interests.”

Zayani, meanwhile, stressed that Saudi Arabia and other GCC states were at the “forefront” in their fight against terrorism, highlighting Gulf States’ “effective participation” with the U.S.-led international coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group.

He said Riyadh’s backing to the coalition was to strengthen Iraq’s defense capabilities to preserve the country’s unity and security.

His statements come after the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Wednesday criticized Maliki.

OIC also said called Maliki’s statement as “irresponsible.”