The White House on Thursday sought to downplay suggestions that the Saudi government delivered a snub to President Obama when he arrived in Riyadh Wednesday, and said a meeting between Obama and Saudi leader King Salman helped “clear the air.”
Deputy National Security adviser Ben Rhodes said a meeting between Obama and Salman lasted more than two hours, and gave the two leaders a chance to air their differences face-to-face.
“I think it was a very open and honest discussion where they were able to address a whole range of issues … some of which we have been in agreement on and some [which have been] a source of tensions,” Rhodes said.
Rhodes then called the meeting an “opportunity to clear the air.” He admitted “some tensions” between the two countries, but said the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are in alignment on key issues, and cited efforts to counter the Islamic State and shared “goals” in Syria.
The relationship between the U.S and Saudi Arabia has frayed in recent years as the Obama administration pursued negotiations and eventually struck a nuclear deal with Iran. Saudi leaders last year skipped a summit for Gulf country leaders Obama held at Camp David.
Those tensions were on fully display when Obama arrived in the Saudi capital Wednesday. When he stepped off Air Force One at the airport in Riyadh, he was not met by Salman but instead a lower-ranking royal, Prince Faisal bin Bandar Al Saud, the governor of Riyadh.
Before the president arrived, Saudi state television aired footage of the king greeting other Gulf nation leaders arriving at the air base.
On Wednesday Saudi Intelligence Chief Prince Turki Al-Faisal told CNN his country plans “a recalibration of our relationship with America.”
“How far we can go with our dependence on America, how much can we rely on steadfastness from American leadership, what is it that makes for our joint benefits to come together?” he asked.
