* First Saudi envoy named since Iraq's invasion of Kuwait
* Announcement precedes next month's Arab summit in Baghdad
(Recasts, adds background)
BAGHDAD, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia, which has
had frosty ties with Iraq's Shi'ite-led government, has named an
ambassador to Baghdad for the first time since Saddam Hussein
invaded Kuwait in 1990, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari
said on Tuesday.
Iraq is preparing to host an Arab League summit at the end
of March that has been twice delayed by regional turmoil and
acrimony between Baghdad and some Sunni Arab Gulf states over a
crackdown by Bahrain's Sunni rulers on Shi'ite protesters.
"For the first time since 1990, the Saudis have named an
ambassador to Iraq. This is a very positive development," Zebari
told Reuters, without elaborating.
Saudi Foreign Ministry spokesman Osama Nugali said: "We
nominated our ambassador in Jordan as ambassador for Iraq as
well, but he will not be residing in Iraq."
A successful summit in Baghdad would help restore Iraq's
place in the Arab world and perhaps contribute to allaying Gulf
states' concerns about Iran's influence in post-war Iraq.
Saudi Arabia was alarmed when its U.S. ally's invasion of
Iraq in 2003 brought Iranian-backed Shi'ite factions to power in
elections after the overthrow of Saddam's Sunni-based rule.
Iraq also has strong ties to Syria, Iran's only Arab ally,
which the Arab League has suspended over President Bashar
al-Assad's violent suppression of an 11-month-old uprising.
Baghdad has often accused Saudi Arabia and Turkey of
meddling in its affairs, especially after a 2010 election that
kept Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in office under a
power-sharing deal among Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish blocs.
That deal has been severely strained since U.S. troops
withdrew in December and Maliki sought the arrest of a Sunni
vice president and moved to oust a Sunni deputy premier. His
actions prompted fears among Sunnis that the Iraqi leader was
trying to consolidate his power further at their expense.
Saudi officials had said they feared the American military
withdrawal would allow Iran to increase its influence in Iraq.
Saudi Arabia has also worried that the rise of Shi'ite power
in Iraq could stir unrest among its own Shi'ite minority.
For their part, Iraqi Shi'ite officials see a Saudi hand in
autonomy demands in mainly Sunni border provinces.
(Reporting by Patrick Markey; Editing by Alistair Lyon)
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