King Abdullah II of Jordan flew to Riyadh on Sunday for talks with Saudi leaders on latest developments in the Middle
East peace process and Iraq, officials said.
The king's visit to Riyadh comes amid reports that Jordan is mediating a
rapprochement between the Sunni Saudi Arabia and the Shiite-led Iraqi
government which is supported by Iran.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki conceded in remarks in Amman on Friday that
Jordan was conducting mediation between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, which has
repeatedly complained about increasing Iranian meddling in Iraqi affairs.
The United States is pressing Arab countries to send diplomatic missions to Baghdad as a sign of support for al-Maliki's government.
Jordan has announced plans to name a new ambassador to Iraq but so far stopped
short of setting a date for the re-opening of the Jordanian embassy in Baghdad,
dpa reported.