Cheney arrives in Saudi Arabia

Crown Prince Abdullah, center, and U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney in Jedda, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (CNN) -- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Saturday to meet with Crown Prince Abdullah, who was expected to once again discourage any possible U.S. military action against Iraq.

Abdullah said Friday that any effort to overthrow Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein would only raise animosity in the region against the United States.

The United States has promised a diplomatic confrontation with Iraq, which has prevented U.N. weapons inspectors from returning to certify the country has no weapons of mass destruction.

Cheney has assured leaders at every stop on his 12-nation tour that the United States will pursue diplomatic efforts before considering any military mission.

Cheney and Abdullah were also expected to discuss the surge in Israeli-Palestinian violence. Abdullah has put forward a peace proposal he plans to present to the Arab League in Beirut, Lebanon, later this month.

EXTRA INFORMATION Timeline: U.S.-Saudi relations

It calls for Arab states to normalize relations with Israel if the Jewish state withdraws to its borders before the 1967 Six Day War.

At a ceremony after landing at the Jeddah airport, Cheney and Abdullah reviewed a Saudi honor guard. Before their meetings, Cheney planned to visit the ailing King Fahd.

Cheney has close ties to the king, whom he met as defense secretary in the first Bush administration when the United States used Saudi Arabia as a base to oust Iraq from Kuwait after its invasion in 1990.