Annan arrives in Saudi Arabia to go on Mideast tour

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan arrived in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea city of Jeddah Monday on the latest leg of his Middle East tour, reported Saudi media reaching here.

During the visit, Annan will hold talks with Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud and Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, largely focusing on sustaining a ceasefire in Lebanon, sources from both Saudi Arabia and the UN were quoted as saying.

The UN chief flew in Jeddah from Qatar which announced during Annan's visit that it would contribute up to 200-300 troops to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

The UN force will assist the Lebanese army in enforcing the ceasefire that halted the 34-day-long Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

UN Security Council Resolution 1701, unanimously passed on Aug. 11, gave the authorization to UNIFIL to expand from its 2,000 troops to up to 15,000 soldiers.

Before Saudi Arabia, Annan has already visited Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Iran and Qatar. His Mideast tour will also include Egypt and Turkey.

Source: Xinhua