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AFP LONDON (AFP) — King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is to meet with Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Wednesday to discuss the Middle East peace process and counter-terrorism amid a state visit that has sparked protests and controversy. On the second official day of his trip to London, the monarch is also to meet with Prince Charles and opposition Conservative Party leader David Cameron. His discussions with Brown will centre on counter-terrorism, Iran, the Middle East peace process, Iraq and Lebanon. A spokeswoman for Brown's Downing Street office has previously said the prime minister would "raise issues he believes to be appropriate". The Saudi monarch's role in the Middle East peace process has been key, as the country held an Arab summit in Riyadh in March to present the Arab peace initiative to Israel. The five-year-old Saudi-authored blueprint offers Israel peace and normal ties if it withdraws from all land seized in the 1967 Middle East war and allows the creation of a Palestinian state and return of Palestinian refugees. On Tuesday evening at a state banquet hosted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, where he is staying, the king, speaking in Arabic, said that he was certain Britain would do everything it could to put an end to "the tragic ordeal of our Palestinian brethren". He also warned of "ominous signs of war and conflict" in the world, which must be faced with "wisdom and courage so that we may not slip into the abyss." For when THEY shall say, Peace and Safety: then sudden destruction comes upon THEM as travail upon a woman with child; and THEY shall not escape.... (1st Thess 5:3) Source Google News
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