Iraq to quickly approve new Saudi ambassador

Iraq will quickly approve the nomination of a non-resident Saudi ambassador, meaning the kingdom will have an ambassador to Iraq for the first time since 1990, the Iraqi premier's spokesman said Tuesday.

"Iraq's response accepting this request will be quick," Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's spokesman Ali Mussawi told AFP.

"The Iraqi government welcomes this step, and we consider it a first step, and we are waiting for more steps," such as "the appointment of a resident ambassador in the country," he said.

A Saudi official told AFP on Monday that the kingdom had nominated its ambassador in Jordan as the non-resident ambassador in Iraq.

It will be the first time Saudi Arabia has had an ambassador to Iraq since 1990, when now-executed dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait.

"We presented today the nomination of the ambassador of the Kingdom for Jordan as the non-resident ambassador in Iraq," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The request was presented to the Iraqi embassy in Riyadh, the official said.