Saudi Arabia wants Bush involved in peace talks

The White House continues to say Israel has a right to defend itself.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Saudi Arabia asked President Bush on Sunday to intervene in Israel's military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon to stop the mounting deaths, but administration officials said they remain convinced that an immediate cease-fire is not the answer.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said that during an Oval Office meeting with Bush, he gave the president a letter from Saudi King Abdullah asking that Bush help seek an immediate cease-fire in the Middle East conflict.
The meeting came on the 12th day of fighting in which Israel has bombed south Beirut and other targets while Hezbollah has rained hundreds of rockets on northern Israel.
"We requested a cease-fire to allow for a cessation of hostilities," Saud told reporters after the meeting.
"I have brought a letter from the Saudi King to stop the bleeding in Lebanon, and there has been an agreement to save Lebanese lives, Lebanese properties and what the Lebanese have built, and to save this country from the ordeal it is facing," Saud said.
Saud's comment reflected Bush's past statements that all want the violence to stop, although he has refused to press for an immediate cease-fire.
Saud and four other Saudi officials met with Bush for more than an hour Sunday.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also participated in the meeting before departing for Israel in the first U.S. diplomatic effort on the ground since Israel began bombing Lebanon on July 12. The fighting has killed hundreds in Lebanon and dozens in Israel.
Western response
Officials from the U.N., Europe and other Arab countries have already urged an end to the fighting. Rice and Bush have rejected calls for an immediate cease-fire, saying it does not make sense if the terrorist threat from Hezbollah is not addressed. They have said Israel has a right to defend itself from terrorism and that Hezbollah must return two captured Israeli soldiers and stop firing missiles and rockets into Israel if they want the fighting to stop.
"Our position on an immediate cease-fire is well known and has not changed," White House national security spokesman Frederick Jones said after the meeting with Saudi officials.
Nail al-Jubeir, a Saudi embassy spokesman, said the Saudis would not release the letter or get into other details of the proposal because it was a private communication between Abdullah and Bush. Asked whether the Saudis requested that Bush directly pressure Israeli leaders for a cease-fire, al-Jubeir said they cannot tell the president who to call. But he noted Bush has a unique influence to negotiate with Israel.
"The U.S. has the authority; it has the clout with Israel," he said. "For us to go and talk to the Israelis isn't going to do anything."
Saud said in their meeting, Bush expressed his desire for the violence to stop.
But Saudi officials would not say how he responded to their request for an immediate halt to Israel's bombing campaign.
"I am not speaking on [behalf of] the president," Saud added. "I am saying that we have agreed on the necessity to stop the fighting, so that the Lebanese government will be able to impose its authority upon its lands."
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