Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it would work to maintain its long-standing ties with Washington, but hinted the number of U.S. troops based in the kingdom might be reduced after the Iraq crisis was over. The kingdom has repeatedly said it would not allow attacks on neighboring Iraq to be launched from its soil, and that several thousand U.S. airmen at its Prince Sultan Airbase near Riyadh were only patrolling a no-fly zone in southern Iraq.

In reply to a question, Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told reporters in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah that this role would remain unchanged in the event of a U.S. attack on Iraq, which the Saudi government strongly opposes.

A More Active Role in a Possible War in Iraq

A buildup of foreign troops at the Prince Sultan base in the past few weeks and reports of American forces arriving at Arar and Tabuk in the north have fueled speculation that they may play a more active role in a possible war in Iraq.

Saudi Arabia said on Saturday that U.S. troops were using the two northern airports near the Iraqi border for defense and to prepare for any flood of refugees in the event of war.

Prince Saud said civilian traffic had been stopped at these airports to allow for the influx of experts and equipment, and that Saudi Arabia expected 100,000 refugees to converge on its borders -- far more than during the 1991 Gulf War.

The presence of Western troops in the kingdom since the 1991 Gulf War has irked many Saudis, already angry with the United States over its open support for Israel. Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden has seized on their presence as a rallying cry for attacks.

PHOTO CAPTION

A U.S. F-16CJ based at Prince Sultan Air Base approaches a KC-135 to refuel as part of Operation Southern Watch in this undated file photo. Southwest Asia. (Tsgt John E. Lasky, USAF/Re