RIYADH, Aug 25 (Reuters) – Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister
Prince Saud al-Faisal may leave hospital in a few days after a
recent operation, the royal court said late on Friday, denying
reports he was critically ill.
“As a result of the improving health of Prince Saud… he
has come off the breathing apparatus normally used after
operations like the one he successfully underwent. God willing,
he will leave hospital in the next few days,” said the statement
carried by the Saudi Press Agency.
A Saudi dissident group in the United States had said
earlier on Friday that Prince Saud, who is 72 and suffers a
chronic back complaint, was critically ill.
Prince Saud, a son of the late King Faisal and a nephew of
King Abdullah, was appointed in March 1975 and is the world’s
longest-serving foreign minister.
The Saudi Press Agency said on Aug. 11 that he had
successfully had minor surgery to remove an intestinal
obstruction caused by a previous operation. It reported on
Tuesday that King Abdullah had visited him in hospital.
He did not attend a summit of Muslim leaders in Mecca
earlier this month.
(Reporting By Angus McDowall, editing by Tim Pearce)
