Riyadh: US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates arrived in Riyadh on Wednesday to meet with Saudi King Abdullah, as the Arabian Peninsula is shaken by spiralling unrest in Yemen.
Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said Gates would discuss unrest sweeping the region with King Abdullah during his brief visit to the Gulf kingdom, the latest in a series of visits to Middle Eastern nations in recent weeks.
With critics accusing US President Barack Obama of failing to chart a clear course for dealing with uprisings across the Arab world, especially in Libya, a senior defence official told reporters travelling with Gates the Saudi visit would reflect the administration's "pragmatic" approach to the unrest in the region - supporting reform but not pushing precipitous change.
"We've been consistent about the set of principles that we stand for. We also have real strategic partnerships in this part of the world," the official said on condition of anonymity.
"We are going to continue to make sure that our partners understand we're not abandoning them? While we continue to have a frank conversation with them about these reforms."
In Saudi Arabia, the official said, discussions would centre on political change across the region rather than Saudi Arabia's own internal situation.
King Abdullah has started some cautious reforms but encountered resistance from Saudi's powerful religious elite.
"It's important for us to work closely and to share views with our partners in the region, so we're looking for the king's perspective," the defence official said.
Saudi Arabia's decision last month to send troops to nearby Bahrain in a bid to help contain unrest there came as a surprise to US officials just after Gates had left the tiny island kingdom during another Middle East visit.
Iranian role
Iran is also certain to be a focus of the talks.
"Clearly whenever [Gates] visits the Saudis and anyone else in the region, Iran will be a major focus of the conversation, both in terms of the regional threat they pose in pursuit of their nuclear programme, their ballistic missile programme - also lately in the role they've been playing to try to exploit the unrest in the region to their advantage," Morell told reporters.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused his arch foe the United States and other western nations on Monday of fomenting unrest in his ally Syria and across the Arab Middle East to secure Israel's position.
Iran, which has crushed its own opposition protests at home, has welcomed uprisings in the region as an "Islamic awakening" against despotic rulers.
US officials say Iran has not had an active role in triggering the recent Arab uprisings but warn it could try to increase its influence across the region at a delicate moment.
"The longer this crisis drags out, the more opportunities there will be for Iran to meddle in a way that is not in our interest and not in Saudi Arabia's interest," the defence official said.
