Afghan leader seeks Saudi help with Taliban

Saudi Arabia has said the Taliban must deny sanctuary to Saudi-born al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden -- whose group waged bloody attacks against the kingdom in the past -- before Riyadh will agree to act as a mediator in any Afghan peace deal.

"We know Karzai well and we know his aim. He is not new to us since Saudi Arabia has been involved in Afghan reconciliation efforts up to last year," said Jamal Khashoggi, a former Saudi diplomat, now editor of al-Watan daily newspaper.

Karzai's visit to Saudi Arabia follows a call by the Afghan leader at a London conference last week urging Saudi Arabia to play a prominent role in bringing peace to Afghanistan. Riyadh has arranged and hosted talks between Afghan government and Taliban representatives in the past.

Karzai will first lead his delegation to Muslim holy city of Mecca to perform pilgrimage before holding talks on Wednesday with King Abdullah on Afghan reconciliation.

Saudi Arabia has "a genuine interest to bring peace to Afghanistan because it will help stabilize Pakistan, a strategic ally of the kingdom, and can use its connections with Afghan religious leaders to achieve that," Khashoggi said.