RIYADH, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived here on Monday to kick off his three-day visit to Saudi Arabia, during which he would discuss with King Abdullah ways of reviving the peace process, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

    Saudi Minister of state Abdullah bin Ahmed bin Yosef Zainal and the Palestinian Ambassador in Riyadh Jamal al-Shobaki received Abbas at the airport.

    According to a news release issued by al-Shobaki, Abbas will meet the king on Tuesday to brief the later his efforts on forming a Palestinian coalition government with national unity and the ways of reviving the stalled peace process in the Middle East region.

    It said that Abbas would also seek the kingdom's help in breaking the Israeli siege on the Palestinian people.

    The Palestinian president's visit to Saudi Arabia came a few days after France, Italy and Spain offered an initiative calling for a ceasefire and an international peace conference in Middle East.

    Riyadh reportedly favors the initiative and supports holding such an international conference on the Middle East issues.