President Obama arrived in Riyadh today to a chilly official reception from Saudi Arabia indicative of strained ties between his administration and the Kingdom.
While King Salman welcomed the other heads of state of the visiting GCC leaders with “pomp and circumstance,” President Obama deplaned Air Force One and was met by the governor of Riyadh and a small delegation, with his arrival not shown on television in the Kingdom. Photos of his arrival at the airport were not immediately available from the Saudi Press Agency, but photos show King Salman welcoming other heads of state from the GCC in Riyadh for security talks.
President Obama greets crown prince Mohammed bin Naif.
However, images published this morning show President Obama meeting with King Salman and other top Saudi leaders, including crown prince Mohammed bin Naif, deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, foreign minister Adel Al-Jubeir, and the Saudi ambassador to the United States Prince Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki.
President Obama and King Salman.
“I and the Saudi people are very pleased that you, Mr. President, are visiting us in the kingdom,” King Salman said.
Mr. Obama responded that the American people were “very grateful for your hospitality.”
The cool reception reflects Saudi frustration with President Obama’s administration over a number of ongoing issues, as well as comments made by the President in a recent interview with the Atlantic. Although the Kingdom and other GCC nations agreed to support the Iran nuclear deal, Saudi Arabia is cautious of a U.S.-Iranian thaw, as Iran and Saudi Arabia frequently find each other at odds in regional conflicts in neighboring Yemen, Iraq and Syria as well as in competition for influence elsewhere.
Top Saudi leaders, including Saudi ambassador to the United States Prince Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki, attended the meeting.
However, in Washington, President Obama is perhaps Saudi Arabia’s strongest political supporter over a new political hot-button issue, whether Saudi Arabia could be sued by families over the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington. The issue rose to the surface in the U.S. days before the New York state primary voting concluded yesterday, where the issue is particularly sensitive.
President Obama said that such a bill would be dangerous, and signaled that he might veto such a bill.
“This is not just a bilateral U.S.-Saudi issue. This is a matter of how, generally, the United States approaches our interactions with other countries,” President Obama said.
The bi-lateral security meeting included reassurances from Carter and top American military leaders.
Across town, President Obama’s defense secretary Ash Carter held a bilateral meeting with his counterpart, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and a delegation of U.S. and Saudi military leaders. Carter was photographed by the SPA greeting Saudi soldiers alongside the deputy crown prince.
Carter today attended a GCC security meeting with defense chiefs from other GCC nations, with the deputy crown prince also in attendance there.
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter meets with Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defense Mohammed bin Salman.
The U.S. and Saudi Arabia continue to cooperate on security matters, despite differences in viewpoints on how some regional conflicts are approached. The two nations remain in virtual lock-step on counter-terrorism, as evidenced by two op-ed pieces published in the U.S. media by the new Saudi ambassador to the United States, HH Prince Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki in the Huffington Post, and another by Nail Al-Jubeir from the embassy’s information office in Politico.
On bi-lateral commercial and economic opportunities, the recently launched U.S.-Saudi Arabia CEO Summit series of events between the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its Saudi counterpart, the Council of Saudi Chambers, is the leading private sector initiative to boost bi-lateral commercial and business ties.
