Posted on 05/11/2015 11:20:00 AM PDT by mojito
King Salman of Saudi Arabia has withdrawn from a carefully orchestrated summit with the US that President Barack Obama hoped would assuage Gulf anxieties about the conclusion of a nuclear agreement with Iran.
Until Sunday the monarch had been expected to join other heads of state from the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries at an unprecedented meeting at the White House and a day of talks at the presidential retreat at Camp David. Now the only leaders attending will be the emirs of Qatar and Kuwait.
The summit, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, follows months of tension and intensive US diplomacy designed to persuade Riyadh and its neighbours that Washington is not abandoning its Gulf allies in order to normalise relations with Iran.
Salman will be represented instead by the newly appointed Saudi crown prince, Muhammad bin Nayef, the darling of western countries and the first of the younger generation of Saudi royals to look likely to ascend the throne. The king’s son, and Saudi defence minister, Muhammad bin Salman – who is running the campaign of air strikes in Yemen – will also be there.
Salman’s refusal to attend the summit is doubly embarrassing for the White House because, just hours before the news broke, US officials were boasting of how significant his presence was. But officials insisted the last-minute cancellation was “completely unrelated” to the agenda of the meeting and were confident the Gulf delegation remained senior enough for a meaningful summit.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
Hasn’t half the ME pulled out? It’s not just the Sauds.
King Salmon! I love King Salmon! On the grill with a littl ebit of lemon juice... mm-mm good!
Trusted leaders are the bulwark for a stable world....Obama appears to be and is...crumbling....plus he never could be trusted.
there has never been a greater international snub of any President of the United States than this action. The GCC leaders slapped the President vigorously about the head and shoulders telling him his worth is at best marginal
In the world of the world, he will never achieve a leadership position again
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