Afghan President Hamid Karzai will seek the help of the Saudi king in reconciliation talks with the Taliban during a visit to the kingdom scheduled to begin Tuesday, his spokesman said, DPA reported.

Karzai wanted to visit Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz to discuss "Kabul's efforts for reconciliation with all factions, including the Taliban," Karzai's spokesman, Waheed Omar, told the London-based, Saudi-funded daily al-Sharq al-Awsat daily in remarks published Tuesday.

Karzai's visit to the kingdom comes days after he said at a London conference on Afghanistan that he hoped King Abdullah would "play a prominent role to guide and assess the peace progress."

In the London conference, officials from some 70 countries endorsed an Afghan peace plan to provide jobs, protection, and vocational training for low and mid-level Taliban who are ready to renounce violence and join mainstream life.

Karzai on Sunday said he would try his best to reach out to the Taliban leadership "as high as possible" to coax the Taliban away from violence.

After the Taliban rejected the government's new calls for peace and vowed to continue their war until the complete withdrawal of all foreign forces, Karzai said his offer applied only to those who were not linked to al-Qaeda or other terrorist groups.

US and NATO forces would stay in his country until the "terrorists" and "extremists" were defeated, Karzai said.

The Afghan president is also scheduled perform the Umrah, or minor pilgrimage, to Mecca before meeting King Abdullah.

Karzai is scheduled to travel to Germany on Thursday, to attend the Munich Conference on Security Policy. The three-day conference has devoted its last day to discussion of Afghanistan.