Washington, July 25: Saudi ambassador to the United States Prince Bandar Bin Sultan has slammed as "blatantly false" allegations in a report on the September 11, 2001, attacks that his country might have played a role in the deadly suicide terror strikes. The long-awaited report raised questions about the role allegedly played by Saudi Arabia in the events leading up to the attacks. Those questions remained mostly unanswered because the white house has refused to declassify 28 pages of the report- a decision which drew sharp rebukes from numerous members of Congress, who called on the White House to allow the information to be made public.
"It is unfortunate that false accusations against Saudi Arabia continue to be made by some for political purposes despite the fact that the kingdom has been one of the most active partners in the war on terrorism, as the president and other administration officials have repeatedly and publicly attested," Bandar said yesterday. "In a 900-page report, 28 blanked-out pages are being used by some to malign our country and our people. Rumours, innuendos and untruths have become, when it comes to the Kingdom, the order of the day. "The idea that the Saudi government funded, organised or even knew about September 11th is malicious and blatantly false.

"It is my belief that the reason a classified section that allegedly deals with foreign governments is absent from the report is most likely because the information contained in it could not be substantiated," the envoy said.

Bureau Report.