Obama seeks to allay Saudi fears on Iran, Syria

RIYADH — US President Barack Obama sought Friday to allay Riyadh’s criticism of his policies on Syria and Iran, telling the Saudi king their two countries remain in lockstep on their strategic interests.

He also assured King Abdullah that the US “won’t accept a bad deal” with Iran, as global powers negotiate a treaty reining in Tehran’s controversial nuclear programme.

“The president underscored how much he values this strategic relationship,” a senior US administration official said, after Obama met for some two hours with the king on a royal estate outside Riyadh.

“There’s sometimes a perception out there of differences between the United States and Saudi Arabia, and the two leaders spoke frankly about a number of issues,” the official added, asking not to be named.

But Obama “made very clear that he believes that our strategic interests remain very much aligned”.

Earlier, White House officials said part of the discussions would focus on ways to “empower” Syria’s moderate opposition.

Saudi Arabia was dismayed by Obama’s 11th hour decision last year not to go ahead with military strikes against the Syrian regime over chemical weapons attacks.

But officials shot down as untrue reports that the US administration was planning to give Riyadh a green light to ship heavy weapons, known as MANPADs, to the beleaguered moderate Syrian opposition.

“We have not changed our position on providing MANPADS to the opposition,” a second senior administration official said, acknowledging “this is a proliferation risk”.

“This was not a trip or a meeting designed to coordinate detailed questions or types of assistance to Syrians,” the first official added.

Riyadh also has strong reservations about revived efforts by Washington and other major world powers to negotiate with Iran.

Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia, long wary of Shiite Iran’s regional ambitions, views a November deal between world powers and Iran on Tehran’s nuclear programme as a risky venture that could embolden Tehran.

The interim agreement curbs Iran’s controversial nuclear activities in exchange for limited sanctions relief, and is aimed at buying time to negotiate a comprehensive accord.

Obama made clear to the king the US was “determined to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, that we’ve gone into the talks eyes wide open, but that we believe this is a common interest in stopping proliferation to Iran,” the first US official told reporters.

He also stressed that Washington remained “very much focused on Iran’s other destabilising activities in the region”.

Iranian-Saudi rivalry crystallised with the Syrian conflict: Tehran backs Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime, while several GCC states support the opposition rebels.

‘Reassurance visit’ 

Obama’s stand on events reshaping the region “have strained relations, but without causing a complete break”, said Anwar Eshki, head of the Jeddah-based Middle East Centre for Strategic and Legal Studies.

US security and energy specialist professor Paul Sullivan said Obama meeting King Abdullah could “help clear the air on some misunderstandings”.

“However, I would be quite surprised if there were any major policy changes during this visit. This is also partly a reassurance visit,” he added.

The two leaders were also expected to discuss Egypt, another bone of contention since the 2011 uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak, who was a staunch US and Saudi ally.

The kingdom was angered by the partial freezing of US aid to Egypt after the army toppled Islamist president Mohamed Morsi last July — a move hailed by Riyadh.

Meanwhile, US officials said Obama did not raise the issue of human rights with the king despite appeals from US lawmakers and rights groups.

Dozens of US lawmakers had urged Obama to publicly address Saudi Arabia’s “systematic human rights violations” and efforts by women activists to challenge its ban on female drivers.

“We do have a lot of significant concerns about the human rights situation” in Saudi Arabia, the second administration official said, mentioning in particular “women’s freedoms”.

Saudi activists have urged women to defy the driving ban and get behind the wheel on Saturday, the second day of Obama’s visit.