Riyadh : Afghan President Hamid Karzai will seek Saudi Arabia's spiritual influence and probably its financial clout to reconcile with the Taliban during talks with King Abdullah this week.

Saudi Arabia has said the Taliban must deny sanctuary to Al Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden 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 Makkah to perform pilgrimage before holding talks with King Abdullah on Afghan reconciliation.

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

In cooperation with Washington, Riyadh lent financial support to the Afghan Mujahideen against Soviet forces in the 1980s. But that support came under scrutiny after the September 11, 2001 attacks on US landmarks.

Saudi Arabia had frozen ties with the Taliban in 1998 over the group's refusal to hand over Bin Laden, stripped of his Saudi citizenship for militant attacks in the kingdom and activities against the Al Saud royal family.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal has set conditions to taking on a role in Afghan peacemaking.

Condition

"The condition that the Taliban part with Al Qaida is not just a condition, it is an objective. We must convince them that Al Qaida ideology and dogma will not help them," Khashoggi said.

Washington has insisted that Afghan insurgents can only be included in a political settlement if they sever all ties with Al Qaida, renounce violence and respect the Afghan constitution.

Prince Turki Al Faisal, the ex-head of Saudi intelligence and a brother of Prince Saud, has in the past tried without success to convince the Taliban to relinquish support for Al Qaida and shelter for Bin Laden.