Washington: Hosting Saudi Arabia’s new monarch for the first time, President Barack Obama said on Friday that the US shares King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz’s desire for an inclusive government in Yemen that can relieve the country’s humanitarian crisis. Their talks also addressed the Iran nuclear deal, a source of lingering tension in the US-Saudi relationship.
Since March, the US has been supporting a Saudi-led intervention against Yemen’s Iran-aided Al Houthi rebels, who forced the country’s internationally recognised president into exile.
“We share concerns about Yemen and the need to restore a functional government that is inclusive and that can relieve the humanitarian situation there,” Obama told reporters who were allowed into the Oval Office for brief comments from both leaders.
The meeting, Obama noted, was taking place at a “challenging time in world affairs, particularly in the Middle East”.
Beyond Yemen, Saudi Arabia wants the US to increase support for Syrian rebels fighting Daesh terrorists and seeking to topple President Bashar Al Assad’s embattled government after four-and-a-half years of civil war. And the Saudis want assurances from the US that the Iran nuclear deal comes with a broader effort to counter Iran’s destabilising activities in the region.
The visit of King Salman, who ascended the throne in January, is forcing the administration to address these concerns. Secretary of State John Kerry said this week that the US was working with its Arab allies in the Gulf on a ballistic missile defence system, special operations training and large-scale military exercises.
At a news conference at the Saudi embassy, foreign minister Adel Al Jubeir said his government endorses the Iran nuclear deal, having been assured by Obama that it will block Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon.
Al Jubeir also said King Salman and Obama discussed a plan to improve American military cooperation with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries that was announced after a Camp David summit in May that King Salman declined to attend.
In contrast to Al Jubeir’s portrayal of US-Saudi relations, Saudi officials in Riyadh said the kingdom is displeased with the Iran deal and looking to expand its alliances beyond the US.
The Saudi officials said the king sought a written agreement from Obama stating that the US is “prepared to defend against any attempt that threatens the security” of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a coalition of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Oman.
The officials say Obama has been hesitant to follow through because the agreement implicitly refers to Gulf concerns about Iran, and the Saudis feel Washington is unwilling to make such a commitment due to its rapprochement with Iran. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly.
King Salman, in brief remarks through an interpreter, characterised his visit as symbolic of the deep ties between the allies.
“I’m happy to come to a friendly country to meet a friend,” he said. “We want to work together for world peace.”