A US delegation led by Vice President Dick Cheney arrived in the Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh Friday to offer condolences on the death of King Fahd and congratulate new King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz.

The delegation including former President George Bush, incumbent President George W. Bush's father, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and other senior US officials, arrived two days after most foreign leaders came to pay their respects to late King Fahd.

Fahd, 83, passed away in hospital on Monday and was laid to rest at a cemetery in the capital on Tuesday.

King Abdullah, who has been the de facto ruler of the oil-rich kingdom for the past decade, ascended the throne in the Royal Palace in central Riyadh Wednesday afternoon.

Saudi Arabia is a close ally and major oil supplier of the United States.

The kingdom was the launch pad of the 1990 US-led Gulf War that drove out the Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

However, bilateral relations were affected by the Sept. 11 attacks against the US in 2001 as many of the attackers were from Saudi Arabia.

Source: Xinhua