2,000 PILGRIMS FROM RUSSIA, CIS STUCK ON SAUDI-IRAQI BORDER








ABU DHABI, March 2. /RIA Novosti's Igor Kuznetsov/. About 1,700-1,800 pilgrims from Russia and the CIS, with some of them lacking entrance visas, have stuck in the Saudi-Iraqi border's neutral zone close to the Saudi town of Arar. Some say they will not continue their voyage to show solidarity with the others. Water, meals and medical aid are coming from the Saudi authorities.


	The pilgrims have arrived in Arar, which is within a two days' drive from Mecca and Medina, by bus and car through Azerbaijan, Iran and Iraq. If they fail to reach Mount Ararat on March 5 when central hadj rite of all-night vigil will take place their pilgrimage will not be valid. They are quite likely to return home with no result at all.


	Meanwhile, over 1,800 Russia's Muslims are being engaged in hadj rites in Mecca and Medina. Some of them, especially those who came to Saudi Arabia last December or January,  are at odds with police due to expired visas.