Washington sends condolences to Saudi king, invites him to visit the US

US Vice President Dick Cheney invited the Saudi Arabia's king Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz to visit the USA.

This was expressed during bilateral talks Cheney and Abdullah held in Riyadh following condolences offered by the American delegation on the death of the late King fahd Bin Abdul Aziz. The delegation included former US President George Bush, foreign secretary of state Collin Powel and the deputy commander in chief of the American armed forces Peter Bayes.

The bilateral talks dealt with, according to the Saudi news agency, regional developments especially conditions in Iraq and Palestine as well as bilateral relations. King Abdullah had met with the American president in his farm in Texas in April this year.

For his part, the Saudi minister of culture and information Eyad Madani said that relations between Saudi Arabia and the USA had witnessed a difficult phase since year 2001, but have currently reached a full understanding.