Israeli PM met top Saudi figure

The mass-selling Yediot Aharonot newspaper quoted senior Israeli officials about the meeting, including one that said the Saudi figure was King Abdullah himself, who met the Israeli leader in an undisclosed location.

A senior government official declined to comment on the report, saying only that "Prime Minister Ehud Olmert did not meet King Abdullah."

Yet Olmert poured cold water on the report later on Monday, telling the Y-net news website: "I did not meet with the Saudi king and I did not meet with any element which should have caused a sensation in the press."

Yediot said the reported meeting had focused on Iran's controversial nuclear programme and a Saudi peace initiative for the Middle East adopted by the Arab League in 2002.

Under the plan, the Arab world would normalise relations with Israel in exchange for a withdrawal from all land occupied since 1967 and a negotiated solution to the Palestinian refugee issue.

Olmert has had no publicly announced trips abroad recently.

Last week, Yediot reported that Israel and Saudi Arabia had been conducting secret negotiations, saying contacts had begun during the recent 34-day war in Lebanon between Israel and Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

Asked about the reported negotiations, Olmert was quoted as saying: "I don't have to answer every question".

However, he also said he was "very impressed with various acts and statements connected with Saudi Arabia, both those that were made publicly and others as well."

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