The US Wall Street Journal reports that Central Bureau chief William Burns set out last month on an unannounced trip to Saudi Arabia to meet with Regent Muhammad bin Salman in an effort to "fix relations" with a key partner in the Middle East.

The paper said details of what the two discussed were not available, but it was estimated that the talks revolved around "the sources of tensions between the US and Saudi Arabia, which include oil production, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Iranian nuclear deal, and the war in Yemen."

A CIA spokeswoman refused to comment to the newspaper on this information.