Senior UN envoy in Saudi Arabia for talks on Middle East peace initiatives

A senior United Nations envoy for the Middle East, Terje Roed-Larsen, is in Saudi Arabia for talks with officials on various initiatives striving to achieve peace in the region.

Mr. Roed-Larsen has already met Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal and other officials to discuss the Quartet road map and the Saudi peace initiative, both of which seek to achieve a negotiated solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, according to a UN spokesperson in New York.

At the conclusion of his three-day visit to Riyadh tomorrow, Mr. Roed-Larsen is slated to depart to Jordan to meet with that country's Foreign Minister, said Marie Okabe. "Both Saudi Arabia and Jordan are key regional countries consulted by the Quartet, the diplomatic group consisting of the United States, European Union, Russian Federation and the UN," she added.