Saudi king to visit Egypt for Mideast talks

Abdullah and Mubarak will meet in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss "the tense situation in the Palestinian territories", the official told AFP, requesting anonymity.

The monarch's trip will come ahead of a June 4 meeting between Mubarak and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Those talks are due to focus on efforts to bring the Palestinians and Israelis back to the negotiation table, according to an Egyptian presidential spokesman.

King Abdullah on Sunday received a telephone call from US President George W. Bush, the state SPA news agency reported.

It said that during the conversation, Bush raised "latest developments at the regional and international levels, notably the situation in the Middle East".

The Saudi king received a message the same day from Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas.

Israel has frozen all contact with the Palestinian Authority since the radical Islamist group Hamas won a January parliamentary election and went on to form its first government in March.

Hamas and Abbas's rival Fatah faction have been holding talks to resolve their differences over the conflict with Israel and over control of the Palestinian security forces.

Saudi Arabia, a main aid donor to the Palestinians, has good relations with Fatah leaders but has also hosted Hamas officials since the movement's election victory.

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