January 15, 2008	Tuesday	Muharram 05, 1429

RIYADH, Jan 14: US President George Bush began a visit to close ally Saudi Arabia on Monday to rally support from the regional economic and political powerhouse for his campaign to isolate arch foe Iran.

The president's first visit to the kingdom was timed with a likely notification to Congress in Washington of a planned $20 billion arms deal with Gulf Arab states, with Saudi Arabia taking the lion's share.

Bush, on a tour of the region also aimed at fostering Middle East peace, warned in a keynote speech on Sunday in Abu Dhabi of what he called the threat to the world posed by Iran.

“The United States is strengthening our longstanding security commitments with our friends in the Gulf — and rallying friends around the world to confront this danger before it is too late,” he said.

Bush, who flew into Riyadh from Dubai and was embraced by King Abdullah at the airport, also charged that the Islamic republic was “today the world's leading state sponsor of terror”.

The US leader landed just hours after French President Nicolas Sarkozy — who has offered to share civilian nuclear technlogy with Muslim countries — wrapped up a visit to Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil producer.

Bush and Abdullah dined and held talks at the Riyadh palace which also serves as the king’s residence.

They will meet again on Tuesday at the monarch's ranch near the capital, before Bush visits Egypt on Wednesday to round off his week-long Middle East tour.

But diplomats said the US and Saudi leaders face “difficult talks” both on Iran and the Middle East conflict.

While Saudi Arabia has voiced concern over the rise of Iran, it is opposed to another war after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq that has strengthened the government in Tehran.

Saudi Arabia itself has called for restraint, with Foreign Minister Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal saying: “We are keen that harmony and peace should prevail among states of the region.”

On the lucrative but sensitive arms front, the Bush administration unveiled its planned $20 billion deal with the Gulf last July. The notification kicks off a 30-day period during which Congress can raise objections.

The deal, which includes satellite-guided weaponry and high-tech munitions, has alarmed Israel and some US Congressmen, especially as Saudi Arabia refuses to recognise the Jewish state.

The administration, which has also announced a $30-billion military aid pact with Israel, argues the deal with the Saudis is needed to counter the perceived threat from Iran.

A senior US official said Bush will court Riyadh’s diplomatic influence and financial muscle which “could make an enormous difference in places like the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan and other locations.” Bush and Abdullah are also expected to discuss efforts to combat terrorism, with the US administration believing its ally — the homeland of Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden — still has “more to do”.

Bush will also raise human rights concerns during his visit to Saudi Arabia as he has on other legs of his Middle East tour, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said.

“The issues of human rights and democracy and freedom... have come up and will come up at every stop,” Hadley told reporters.—AFP