Blair to Visit Kingdom Today: Official

JEDDAH, 2 July 2005 — British Prime Minister Tony Blair will make a brief visit to the Kingdom today for talks with Crown Prince Abdullah, a Saudi official said yesterday.

Blair will be in Riyadh for a few hours late Saturday, the official told AFP, requesting anonymity.

He did not give details about the planned talks, which are expected to focus on bilateral ties and regional issues, including the situation in Iraq and Palestine.

Blair’s trip to the Kingdom comes days before he hosts a summit of G-8 leaders in Scotland. The British leader has put aid to Africa the top item on his agenda for the July 6-8 meeting.

Blair has tried to use his close ties with US President George W. Bush to press for progress in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Arab states have backed a proposal by Prince Abdullah that offers Israel normal relations in return for Israeli withdrawal from land occupied in 1967.

Blair told reporters yesterday that G-8 leaders should produce a new initiative on the Middle East peace process. Britain assumed the European Union presidency yesterday.

Blair visited Saudi Arabia in October 2001 as part of efforts to shore up an international anti-terror coalition during the US-British bombing of Afghanistan, which followed 9/11 attacks on the United States.