Saudis may attend conference

JERUSALEM — Saudi Arabia said Wednesday it would seriously consider attending a Middle East peace conference proposed by the Bush administration for later this year, as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice began laying the ground work for the regional meeting.

The proposed gathering is intended to revive the peace process and would include Israel, the Palestinians and Arab states viewed as moderate by the United States.

Speaking during a rare joint visit by Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Jeddah, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said his government would "look very closely and very hard at attending" if the conference dealt with "issues of real substance, not form."

Al-Faisal also said Saudi Arabia would explore opening diplomatic relations with the Shiite-led government in Iraq, an endorsement long sought by Washington, and even consider reopening an embassy in Baghdad.

Rice thanked her Saudi host for considering diplomatic ties, calling it "an important step." The Arab world has lagged far behind Europe in placing embassies in Baghdad.

Responding to criticism from the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, al-Faisal said Saudi Arabia is already doing all it can to address concerns about the flow of terrorists over its border into Iraq. "All that we can do in order to protect the border in Iraq we have been doing," he said.

The foreign minister insisted his country was supportive of the Iraqi government.

"As an indication of our good intentions, we let their (soccer) team win," al-Faisal joked, referring to Iraq's soccer victory over Saudi Arabia in the final of the Asia Cup.

Saudi Arabia's Sunni rulers have had frosty relations with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government and have not hidden their suspicions that al-Maliki does not have the interests of Iraq's Sunni minority at heart.

A meeting between Israeli and Saudi representatives would be a major diplomatic breakthrough. Though Israel and Saudi Arabia are both U.S. allies, representatives of the countries have never officially met, and Saudi Arabia has never recognized the Jewish state.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said in a statement Wednesday that Israel hopes "many Arab countries will attend this international meeting, including Saudi Arabia."