WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama hosted Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House on Friday and underscored the Saudi leader’s pivotal role in managing Saudi-American ties.
The meeting took place in the Oval Office — a rare honor for a non-head of state. The two leaders reaffirmed the strategic partnership between Saudi Arabia and the US.
According to a readout of the meeting, the deputy crown prince and Obama discussed “Iran’s destabilizing activities (in the Middle East).”
On Syria, they affirmed the importance of supporting the cessation of hostilities and “political transition away from Bashar Assad.”
Obama appreciated Saudi Arabia’s contribution to the campaign against Daesh.
The deputy crown prince and the US president discussed “steps to support the Iraqi people, including increased Gulf support to fund urgent humanitarian and stabilization needs.”
The US president commended the deputy crown prince’s commitment to reform Saudi economy and underscored strong US support for achieving the goals of Vision 2030.
White House spokeswoman Jennifer Friedman said the leaders voiced support for a UN-backed unity government in Libya. She said the deputy crown prince also expressed support for the global climate deal struck in Paris.
The crown prince was accompanied by top aides, including Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir. Also present during the meeting was US Vice President Joe Biden.
Later, Saudi Arabia reiterated its call for airstrikes against Bashar Assad’s regime, after US diplomats broke ranks with the White House to push for robust action.
Briefing journalists after talks at the White House, Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said the Kingdom had long urged Washington to lead a military response to undermine Assad’s control.
At the Saudi Embassy, Al-Jubeir noted that from the very start of the crisis, Riyadh had pushed for “a more robust policy, including airstrikes, safe zones, a no fly zone, a no drive zone.”
He said Saudi Arabia wanted to arm Syria’s “moderate opposition” with ground-to-air missiles and repeated an offer to deploy Saudi special forces in any US-led operation.
Al-Jubeir was speaking after the US State Department was forced to confirm that many of its own diplomats had signed a cable on a “dissident channel” calling for more robust action in Syria.
