WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has cut short his visit to India by a day and will now visit Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to meet the new Saudi king, Salman bin Abdulaziz.

Other key Western leaders, such as British Prime Minister David Cameron, Britain’s Prince Charles and French President Francois Hollande, are also going to the Saudi capital Riyadh to offer condolences to King Salman on the death of his half-brother and former king, Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.

Commenting on the development, The Washington Post noted that “Mr Obama’s visit to new Saudi king highlights the kingdom’s importance to the United States”.

Originally, Vice President Joe Biden was scheduled to lead the US delegation but now President Obama and the First Lady will represent their country at the ceremony.

The White House said it adjusted the schedule to enable President Obama to “meet King Salman and other Saudi officials and offer his condolences on behalf of the American people”.

The US media noted that for much of the Obama presidency, America’s relations with Saudi Arabia had remained tense.

The Post said that King Abdullah had been upset with President Obama’s failure to topple Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and with the lack of US pressure for an Israeli-Palestinian settlement.

He was also anxious about whether US-led talks with Iran could persuade Tehran to abandon its nuclear programme.

But ties between Washington and Riyadh had warmed again after Mr Obama’s visit to Riyadh last March and “more importantly, by both countries’ overriding focus on blunting the rise of the Islamic State”.

Published in Dawn January 25th , 2015

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