RIYADH, Jan 6: Saudi Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz has said that the US should review its aims and objectives in Iraq, and the neighbouring countries should stop backing communities on the basis of religion.

"Coalition forces in Iraq must review the goals of their presence and the strategies of their remaining" there, said the Saudi crown prince in an interview carried by Asharq Al Awsat, a Saudi-owned pan-Arab daily on Sunday.

The statement comes in the wake of a number of calls in recent weeks from leading clerics in Saudi Arabia for the protection of the Sunni community in Iraq.

Expressing grief over recent developments in Iraq, he insisted that Saudi Arabia would not interfere in the internal affairs of Iraq.

"The question that must be asked is: what did these forces achieve since entering Iraqi territory? And did the strategy applied by these forces achieve anything positive?" he said.

He also called on all political shades in Iraq to initiate comprehensive national dialogue under a national umbrella, representing all Iraqi forces so as to establish a new Iraq over and above sectarian or ethnic interests. It is generally believed that Saudi Arabia holds some sway over the Sunnis of Iraq.

Prince Sultan also questioned if the US-led coalition had been able to achieve any success in Iraq as yet.

In an apparent reference to Iran's perceived support for Iraq's Shia community, he urged “some neighbouring countries” to “stop backing sects and (political) currents inside Iraq.”

Iraq "should not serve as a bargaining chip to achieve political objectives," he insisted.

He said Saudi Arabia had consistently refrained from meddling in Iraq's internal affairs and warned of the dangers of outside interference.

"Being against the policy of interference, the kingdom did not, and will not, interfere in internal Iraqi affairs, giving its people a chance to find ways out of the current crisis," he said.

Earlier last month, Saudi Arabia denied persistent reports that it might step in to bankroll Iraq's Sunnis against Iran-backed Shias if the US troops pull out swiftly and leave a raging civil war in the country. Media reports have been suggesting that Saudi Arabia had told Dick Cheney during his one-day visit to Riyadh in November that it could not stay silent to the ongoing brutalities against the Sunnis in Iraq.

The crown prince also warned against the partitioning of Iraq on sectarian grounds.

"We have warned and continue (to warn) against calls made every now and then for the partition of Iraq under the pretext of (securing) the rights of sects or the freedom of minorities," he told the daily.