Gaddafi storms out of summit

2009-03-30 14:45

Doha, Qatar - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi stormed out of an Arab summit on Monday after denouncing the Saudi king for his long ties to the West.

Gaddafi disrupted the opening Arab League session in Qatar by taking a microphone and criticising Saudi's King Abdullah, calling him a "British product and American ally".

Gaddafi has harboured a grudge against Abdullah since exchanging harsh words during a summit in early 2003 shortly before the US-led invasion of Iraq.

"Now after six years, it has proved that you were the liar," Gaddafi said, adding that he now considered their "problem" over and was ready to reconcile.

But when the emir of Qatar tried to quiet Gaddafi, the Libyan leader insisted on speaking to the summit.

"I am an international leader, the dean of the Arab rulers, the king of kings of Africa and the imam (leader) of Muslims and my international status does not allow me to descend to a lower level," Gaddafi said before getting up and walking out of the hall.

A Libyan delegate said Gaddafi went to the Islamic museum in Doha for a tour.

The Libyan leaders is known for his unpredictable behaviour and it's not clear whether he will rejoin the two-day summit.

Gaddafi has angered other Arab leaders with his sharp remarks at past summits.

Last year, he poured contempt on fellow Arab leaders at a summit in Syria and warned that they might be overthrown like former Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein.

He boycotted the 2007 summit in Saudi Arabia but gave a televised speech saying "Liza" - referring to former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice - had dictated the gathering's agenda.

In 2005, he told the summit in Algeria that Palestinians and Israelis are "stupid". A year earlier, he sat smoking cigars on the conference floor of the Tunisia summit to show his contempt for the other leaders.

- AP