Al Jazeera.com :
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman will not attend a Camp David summit of US and allied Arab leaders, his foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, said, raising questions about relations between Riyadh and Washington.
In a statement on Sunday, Jubeir said Thursday’s summit coincides with a humanitarian ceasefire in the conflict in Yemen, where a coalition of Arab nations is fighting Houthi rebels.
He said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who is also interior minister, would lead the Saudi delegation and the king’s son, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is defence minister, will also attend.
President Barack Obama had planned to meet Salman one-on-one a day before the gathering of leaders at the presidential retreat.
The White House said it did not take his decision to skip the summit as a sign of any substantial disagreement with the US, but some commentators called the king’s cancellation a snub.
The New York Times said: “The decision appeared to be a signal of Saudi Arabia’s continued displeasure with the Obama administration over United States relations with Iran, its rising regional adversary.”
Arab allies feel threatened by Iran’s rising influence and worry a nuclear pact taking shape with the US, Iran and other nations may embolden Tehran to intrude more aggressively in countries of the region.
Others speculated that the king’s health did not allow him to travel abroad.
King Salman, who took power in January after his brother King Abdullah died, has not travelled abroad since his ascension to the throne.
At the King David summit, leaders of Gulf nations will be looking for assurance that Obama has their support when comes to the fighting armed groups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman will not attend a Camp David summit of US and allied Arab leaders, his foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, said, raising questions about relations between Riyadh and Washington.
In a statement on Sunday, Jubeir said Thursday’s summit coincides with a humanitarian ceasefire in the conflict in Yemen, where a coalition of Arab nations is fighting Houthi rebels.
He said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who is also interior minister, would lead the Saudi delegation and the king’s son, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is defence minister, will also attend.
President Barack Obama had planned to meet Salman one-on-one a day before the gathering of leaders at the presidential retreat.
The White House said it did not take his decision to skip the summit as a sign of any substantial disagreement with the US, but some commentators called the king’s cancellation a snub.
The New York Times said: “The decision appeared to be a signal of Saudi Arabia’s continued displeasure with the Obama administration over United States relations with Iran, its rising regional adversary.”
Arab allies feel threatened by Iran’s rising influence and worry a nuclear pact taking shape with the US, Iran and other nations may embolden Tehran to intrude more aggressively in countries of the region.
Others speculated that the king’s health did not allow him to travel abroad.
King Salman, who took power in January after his brother King Abdullah died, has not travelled abroad since his ascension to the throne.
At the King David summit, leaders of Gulf nations will be looking for assurance that Obama has their support when comes to the fighting armed groups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
