RIYADH, Jan 4: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday on a visit which Egyptian officials said was aimed at smoothing out strained ties between Riyadh and Libya.

Mubarak was greeted at the airport by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, an Egyptian diplomat said. He was accompanied by Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit, intelligence chief Omar Suleiman and his political adviser Osama al-Baz. The visit would last only a few hours, the diplomat said, requesting anonymity.

Officials in Cairo earlier said Mubarak would hold talks with Crown Prince Abdullah in a bid to defuse tensions between Riyadh and Libya over an alleged Libyan plot to assassinate Abdullah.

The brief trip comes just a week after Suleiman held "urgent" talks in Saudi Arabia following the kingdom's decision to expel Libya's ambassador over the purported plot.

The crown prince was allegedly the target of a Libyan assassination plot in 2003 that Tripoli has strongly denied. Egypt maintains good relations with both Riyadh and Tripoli.

Riyadh's decision sparked a furious war of words with Tripoli, which denied any role in the alleged plan, with the Libyan press denouncing Saudi Arabia as "The Kingdom of the Black Comedy." -AFP