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Trump, Saudi Prince Mohammad Discuss Ties, Syria

Trump, Saudi Prince Mohammad Discuss Ties, Syria
folder_openMiddle East... access_time7 years ago
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President Donald Trump met with Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman at the White House Tuesday for a discussion that touched on economic relations and efforts to stop the war in Syria.

Trump, Saudi Prince Mohammad Discuss Ties, Syria

Trump and Prince Mohammad, who is also the kingdom's defense minister, kicked off their talks in the Oval Office, where they posed for a picture in front of journalists but did not take questions.

Trump and the prince later sat for lunch and were joined by several White House and Saudi officials.

The Saudi royal is the highest-level visit to Washington since November's presidential election. The prince is leading the kingdom's efforts to revive state finances by diversifying the economy away from a reliance on falling crude oil revenues.

The meeting's agenda included the war in Yemen and cooperation against Daesh [Arabic acronym for "ISIS" / "ISIL"].

Trump's 50-plus days in office have given little indication about his stance on the war in Yemen, but have seen a dramatic uptick in US action against al-Qaeda's Yemen offshoot, AQAP.

Gulf Arab officials appeared optimistic about the Trump presidency. They see in him a strong president who will shore up Washington's role as their main strategic partner and help contain Riyadh's adversary Iran in a region central to US security and energy interests, regional analysts said.

The Saudis had appeared particularly relieved at the departure of Barack Obama, who they felt considered Riyadh's alliance with Washington less important than negotiating a deal in 2015 to neutralize Iran's nuclear program.

Obama late last year also suspended the sale of US-made precision-guidance munitions to the Saudis, a reaction to thousands of civilian casualties in the ongoing conflict.

US officials said Trump was considering ending that ban and approving the sale of guidance systems made by Raytheon Co. The State Department has approved the move, which awaits a final White House decision, the officials said.

Trump expressed hope that Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies can help across a range of issues, from creating safe zones in Syria to solving the Palestinian-"Israeli" conflict.

A source close to the issue, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said a main topic of the meeting was Saudi investment in the United States, which could help the US president fulfill his promises of job creation.

"It's the creation of jobs through investments - President Trump wants results and statistics matter for him," said Ingrid Naranjo, an expert in US-Saudi relations. "It makes a lot of sense for the diversification strategy of Saudi to invest abroad and especially in the US"
US Vice President Mike Pence, Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, chief of staff Reince Priebus and strategist Steve Bannon were also present at the Oval Office meeting with Prince Mohammad.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

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