Saudi Arabia's 'warrior prince' Mohammed bin Salman meets Trump's son-in-law to discuss peace

Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, architect of the war and blockade against neighbouring Yemen and Qatar respectively, has met with US officials in Jeddah to discuss efforts to restart peace talks in the region.

Washington announced last week that it would send a US delegation of top envoys Jared Kushner, Jason Greenblatt and deputy national security advisor Dina Powell to the Middle East to discuss peace talks focusing on Israel and Palestine.

The regional tour will include meetings with leaders from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, the UAE, Qatar, Jordan, and Egypt.

Bin Salman and the US delegation led by Kushner discussed ways to reach "a real and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians" and ensuring stability in the wider Middle East and beyond, Saudi state news agency SPA said.

The two sides also discussed ways to combat the financing of terrorism.

Kushner was charged with helping to restart Israeli-Palestinians negotiations which have been frozen since talks collapsed in 2014, but has so far made little progress.

Bin Salman is widely thought to have ordered the devastating war in Yemen that has killed more than 10,000 and along with the UAE crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed is behind the ongoing blockade against Qatar, a fellow member of the GCC.

He is also thought to be a supporter of normalised relations with Israel and is expected to back any proposals by Trump to resolve the conflict.

Palestinian officials say however they are still waiting for a "clear vision" from Washington on resuming talks, with President Mahmoud Abbas indicating that chaos in the White House is affecting US efforts for peace.

Trump went to Saudi Arabia and Israel during his first post-inauguration overseas trip and has repeatedly referred to solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as the "ultimate deal".

Earlier this year he broke with decades of US foreign policy after saying peace between Israel and the Palestinians may not come in the form of a two-state solution.