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Libya's Gadhafi Says He's 'the Dean of Arab Rulers'

Associated Press
Published | Updated

DOHA, Qatar – Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi stormed out of an Arab summit on Monday after denouncing the Saudi king and declaring himself "the dean of Arab rulers."

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

When the Qatari emir tried to quiet him, the Libyan leader and current Africa Union chairman insisted he be allowed to speak.

"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," Gadhafi said.

Gadhafi, who is known for his unpredictable behavior, then got up and walked out of the summit hall. A Libyan delegate said he went to an Islamic museum in Doha for a tour.

Gadhafi has angered other Arab leaders with his sharp remarks at past summits and has harbored a grudge against Abdullah since exchanging harsh words during a summit in early 2003 shortly before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

"Now after six years, it has proved that you were the liar," Gadhafi told Abdullah, adding that he now considered their "problem" over and was ready to reconcile. Later Monday, Qatar's emir brought Gadhafi and Abdullah together for a reconciliation meeting, said Arab diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak to the media.

Last year, Gadhafi poured contempt on fellow Arab leaders at the 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 U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice — had dictated the gathering's agenda.

Also in 2005, Gadhafi 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.