Riyadh - US President George W Bush was in the Saudi capital Riyadh Friday for a two-day visit to hold talks with Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdel-Aziz. With oil prices hitting the record high of over 127 dollars a barrel Friady, Bush's second personal appeal to King Abdullah to increase oil production in an effort to slow down demand reportedly was set to fail Friday.
Soaring oil prices, Iran's nuclear programme, Beirut's political crisis, ties with Iraq and Arab support for the Palestinian authority were the kernels of the meeting with a major US ally in the region, King Abdullah, diplomatic sources said.
The White House has not been pleased with the reluctance of King Abdullah to intervene in the oil market or push OPEC to increase production to ease international demand and bring down skyrocketing oil prices.
Abdullah was not persuaded during Bush's visit in January, but Bush will raise the issue again during the meeting.
On Thursday, the Saudi news agency reported that the talks will focus on bilateral relations in addition to regional and international issues of common concern.
Bush is expected in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Saturday for a meeting with Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, ahead of his return to Washington, at the end of his second tour to the Middle East since he took office.
Bush's visit to the Islamic monarchy also marks the 75th anniversary of the formal establishment of US-Saudi relations.
He arrived, with first lady Laura Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, from Israel where he marked the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the country and stressed on the "unbreakable" US-Israeli alliance.
