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King Salman met President Obama, Iranian interference and crisis in Syria on agenda

RIYADH —King Salman held wide-ranging talks with US President Barack Obama on Wednesday.
Iranian interference in the affairs of regional countries, the crisis in Syria and the fight against ISIS figured prominently during closed-door talks between the two leaders, according to sources.
“The American people send their greetings and we are very grateful for your hospitality, not just for this meeting but for hosting the GCC-US summit that’s taking place tomorrow,” Obama said, referring to the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council summit that starts Thursday.
King Salman offered similarly gracious words for president Obama, who is paying his fourth trip for face-to-face meetings since becoming president. “The feeling is mutual between us and the American people,” the King said.
Obama was slated to spend little more than 24 hours in Riyadh before heading on to visits to London and Hannover, Germany.
In addition to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain are participating in the regional summit, which the White House said would focus on regional stability, counterterrorism, and Iran.
The previous GCC-US summit took place at Camp David last May. A joint statement issued at that time said: “The United States shares with our GCC partners a deep interest in a region that is peaceful and prosperous, and a vital interest in supporting the political independence and territorial integrity, safe from external aggression, of our GCC partners. The United States policy to use all elements of power to secure our core interests in the Gulf region, and to deter and confront external aggression against our allies and partners, as we did in the Gulf War, is unequivocal.
The United States is prepared to work jointly with the GCC states to deter and confront an external threat to any GCC state’s territorial integrity that is inconsistent with the UN Charter. In the event of such aggression or the threat of such aggression, the United States stands ready to work with our GCC partners to determine urgently what action may be appropriate, using the means at our collective disposal, including the potential use of military force, for the defense of our GCC partners.”
The day before King Salman meeting with President Obama, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and the United States agreed to carry out joint patrols to stop any Iranian arms shipments reaching Yemen, GCC Secretary General Abdullatif Al-Zayani said on Wednesday.
Zayani was speaking at a news conference with US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter after a meeting between Carter and his counterparts from the GCC.
The GCC-US also agreed to cooperate in building the GCC states’ joint missile defense systems and in developing special forces.
At the outset of the GCC-US defense ministers’ meeting at Al-Diriyah palace, Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman and minister of defense, called for united efforts to defeat the challenges facing the region, the most important of which are terrorism, instability and Iranian interference in the affairs of the region’s countries.
He said the meeting focussed on the work to meet these challenges together through the long and deep-rooted partnership between the GCC and the United States.
“Today we must work seriously to confront these challenges by working together,” said Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad.
Countering Iran’s destabilizing activities
US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said the United States and GCC nations were “building on that strong partnership” that has lasted for decades.
A senior defense official said the two major focuses of Carter’s visit are countering Iran’s destabilizing activities and defeating Daesh (the so-called ISIS).
Earlier in a separate meeting, Carter told Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad that the Kingdom and the US should deepen bilateral cooperation on training for special operations and integrate missile defense systems, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement on Monday.
“Carter identified several areas where the United States and Saudi Arabia can deepen their security cooperation for the benefit of both countries, such as enhancing training for special operations and counterterrorism forces, integrating air and missile defense systems, bolstering cyber defenses, and strengthening maritime security,” Cook said.
The Pentagon statement noted that the two leaders also discussed mutual security issues, “including checking Iranian destabilizing activities in the region and countering violent extremism” from groups like ISIS.

 

 

Source: Saudi Gazette, April 21

 

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