US President George W. Bush and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah reaffirmed their "strong relations" and "overall close cooperation" in the war on terrorism in a phone call on Saturday that could help mend bilateral fences.
Bush angered the Saudi government last month by rejecting its request to declassify part of a congressional report on the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks dealing with Saudi Arabia.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush discussed progress in the war on terrorism as well as bilateral relations during his 20 minute call with the crown prince.
"It was a good, positive conversation," McClellan told reporters. "They talked about the overall close cooperation in our efforts to crack down on terrorism and the two leaders talked about how strong relations are between the United States and Saudi Arabia."
The congressional report on the Sept. 11 attacks was released with a portion on Saudi Arabia still classified. The report raised suspicions over possible links between individuals in the Saudi government and some of the hijackers, 15 of whom were Saudis.
During a visit to the White House last month, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister angrily denounced the report as an "outrage" that "wrongly and morbidly" accused his country of complicity in the attacks.
Bush refused to declassify the section dealing with Saudi Arabia on the grounds it would compromise intelligence.
Bush spoke to Abdullah by phone from his Crawford, Texas, ranch, where he is vacationing.