Palestinian president meets with Saudi king in Riyadh

By Ramazan Turgut

RIYADH

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday met with Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz in Riyadh, Palestine’s official WAFA news agency reported.

According to WAFA, the two leaders discussed Palestine-Saudi relations, recent events in the region and the ongoing Palestinian reconciliation process.

Abbas also reportedly briefed King Salman on U.S. efforts to revive stalled Palestine-Israel peace talks and thanked Saudi Arabia for its longstanding support for the Palestinian cause.

Abbas was accompanied on his trip to Riyadh by a number of top Palestinian officials, including Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki and security chief Majid Faraj.

The Palestinian president's visit to Saudi Arabia comes on the heels of an earlier trip to Cairo.

In October, Hamas and Fatah -- Palestine’s two main political factions -- signed a landmark reconciliation agreement in Cairo aimed at ending 10 years of bitter division.

If it holds, the deal will allow the Fatah-led Palestinian government in Ramallah to assume political and administrative responsibility for the Gaza Strip, which since 2007 has been run by Hamas.