February 05, 2007	Monday	Muharram 16, 1428

RIYADH, Feb 4: German Chancellor Angela Merkel met Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah on Sunday on the second leg of a Middle East tour aimed at coordinating efforts to resume Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

The focus of their talks was on “developments in the Palestinian question and the situation in Iraq”, as well as boosting Saudi-German cooperation, said the official news agency SPA.

SPA said Ms Merkel was welcomed at the airport by Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, the defence minister, and other ministers and officials before meeting the monarch.

Diplomatic sources said she would also meet the secretary general of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council.

Ms Merkel arrived from Cairo, where she met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa. “There should not be different signals coming from different continents,” Ms Merkel told journalists. She said the Arab League chief saw “a window this year” for progress in the becalmed peace process.—AFP