Diplomacy

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In a Move Seen as Critical of White House, Saudi King to Skip GCC Summit

by TheTower.org Staff |

President Barack Obama’s efforts to gain support for the ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran suffered a blow when it was confirmed Sunday that King Salman, the newly-crowned ruler of Saudi Arabia, would not be attending this week’s planned summit between the president and the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), The Wall Street Journal reported (Google link) today.

Saudi Arabia said Sunday that King Salman would skip a May 14 summit of Persian Gulf leaders at which President Barack Obama is expected to offer reassurances over U.S. efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran.

The decision marks a diplomatic snub from one of the top leaders in the region, and follows U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to the Saudi capital last week. …

The Saudi foreign minister said that the king had delegated Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef to lead the Saudi delegation, which will also include Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other senior officials.

The newly-appointed Saudi foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, said that the king would instead focus on the ceasefire in Yemen and humanitarian efforts there.

Salman is not the only ruler scheduled to skip the summit. Only the leaders of Kuwait and Qatar have confirmed their intention to attend.

John Hudson wrote in Foreign Policy last week:

If King Salman skips the summit, the absence of the heads of state of three of the six GCC members could be seen as a snub to the White House, which wants to reassure Arab states that a nuclear deal with Iran won’t threaten their security and to push the countries to collaborate on the construction of a missile defense shield designed to protect the entire Persian Gulf region.

Salman succeeded his half-brother, Abdullah, after the latter’s death in January. In March, the new king led a coalition to strike at the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The military action was seen as a pushback against Iranian ambitions in the Middle East. At the end of April, Salman shook up the Saudi government and changed the line of succession to the throne.

[Photo: Wall Street Journal / YouTube ]

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