Cheney returning to U.S. after talks with Saudis

SHANNON (Reuters)- Vice President Dick Cheney met on Saturday with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, who expressed concern about the security situation in the Middle East, but neither side gave specifics about their discussions.

The two men were together for about three hours during Cheney's brief visit to the Saudi capital Riyadh.

Cheney made no comment after the meeting before boarding his plane and flying back to the United States, stopping over briefly in Ireland.

"They covered a range of regional issues," said Cheney's spokeswoman Lea Anne McBride. "It was a good visit with someone the vice president has known for going on 17 years and is a great friend and ally of the United States."

Cheney and the Saudi monarch put in an appearance for reporters before their private session. "Now truly the security situation is really becoming very serious," King Abdullah said through a translator.

Cheney has visited Saudi Arabia at least three times before, most recently in January, when he met King Abdullah to discuss Iraq, Iran's nuclear ambitions, Syria, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Lebanon.

With Iraq on the brink of all-out civil war, the Bush administration has begun a new push to break the cycle of violence by enlisting the help of moderate Arab nations while also tackling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In what is shaping up to be a crisis summit, President George W. Bush will meet Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Jordan on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss the security situation in Iraq.

The United States wants Saudi Arabia to use its influence with Iraq's Sunni minority to help stabilize the country after more 200 people were killed in a Shi'ite stronghold near Baghdad on Thursday in the worst single attack since Saddam Hussein was overthrown in April 2003.

The Bush administration has also stepped up its efforts to seek help from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan in breaking a deadlock in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

"All of these issues of the Middle East are interrelated and you can't solve any of them without looking at others," said one Arab diplomat.

There is strong pressure for the United States to meet with Iran and Syria over Iraq but Bush administration officials have said there are no such plans yet.

A Western diplomat said the United States wanted to counter the threat from Iran and Syria by co-opting moderate Arab nations on both Iraq and the Palestinian-Israeli issue and the current diplomatic push was proof of this.

"They also want to allay regional fears that the United States is going to leave Iraq too soon. The big concern is about stability in the region," said the diplomat.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be with Bush for the Maliki meeting, and go on to attend an annual Middle East democracy conference at the Dead Sea where key Arab players may meet in the sidelines to discuss Arab-Israeli issues.

(Additional reporting by Sue Pleming and Caren Bohan in Washington)

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