SAUDI PRESSURE ON IRAQ TO END WAR?

Saudi Arabia has threatened to exert financial pressure on the Iraqi government to find a solution to end the war with Iran, according to a well placed source in Baghdad. The Saudi intention is said to have been made late last year, when funds to Iraq to maintain both its war effort and its huge development programme, were running at an estimated $20bn from Arab Gulf states. The source, involved in both military and civilian projects for the Iraqi government, says that the severity of Iraq's cash flow problem has begun to force major civilian projects to be postponed. It is estimated that 40% of new civilian construction has been postponed, indicating that Iraq is no longer receiving all the financial support it needs.