President Obama arrives tomorrow (Wednesday) in Riyadh for meetings with King Salman and other top Saudi government leaders, and to attend a GCC summit meeting.
The visit to Saudi Arabia, the President’s fourth trip to the Kingdom, comes amid increased focus on U.S.-Saudi relations. On Monday, the White House expressed confidence that Saudi Arabia would not follow through on a reported threat to sell U.S. assets if Congress passed a bill that could hold the kingdom responsible for any role in al Qaeda’s Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, according to a report in Reuters.
President Obama and HRH King Salman.
President Obama also emphatically disagreed with the Democratic primary candidates, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, regarding the legislation that might put Saudi Arabia and other allies and nations at risk of being sued. Both Clinton and Sanders are in a key battle for a victory in the state of New York, where primary voters see the 9/11 suit as an issue in the race.
“If we open up the possibility that individuals in the United States can routinely start suing other governments, then we are also opening up the United States to being continually sued by individuals in other countries,” President Obama said in an interview broadcast on CBS News on Monday.
When President Barack Obama meets with GCC leaders, “he will be tackling one of the most important, but deeply strained, U.S. international relationships,” writes Hussein Ibish from the AGSIW. “The new summit comes at an important moment in the relationship. It will be the last major opportunity for Obama to repair the fraying of the partnership that has developed during his two terms in office. Moreover, whatever hopes may have been harbored that the nuclear agreement might lay the basis for a broader restructuring of the relationship with Iran, Tehran’s behavior thus far into the implementation phase suggests that traditional alliances with Arab countries will remain essential to securing U.S. interests in the region.”
The Saudi Press Agency republished several photographs this morning in advance of the President’s visit looking back on the year in U.S.-Saudi relations. Those photos included several visits from top U.S. officials to Saudi Arabia and the visit of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and other top Saudi officials to the United States in September 2015.
On the U.S. side, the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh shared a short welcome video in advance of the President’s arrival on YouTube.
