Obama arrives in Saudi Arabia to pay respect to new king
US President Barack Obama arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, seeking to cement ties with the Arab country and pay his respects to the kingdom’s newly-appointed ruler, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
King Abdullah died at the age of 90 early on Friday after ruling the Saudi kingdom for nearly a decade. His 79-year-old half brother, Salman, has succeeded the late king.
Obama wants to forge the same kind of "close relationship" with Salman as he had with Abdullah, Deputy US National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters in Riyadh on Tuesday.
"We do believe that Saudi policy will remain quite similar to how it's been under king Abdullah," he added.
Obama, who was accompanied by a high-ranking US delegation, held talks with Salman about the ISIL terrorist group and the volatile situation in Yemen.
The US delegation traveling with Obama included Republican Senator John McCain, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and ex-National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley.
The presidential party stayed on the ground in Saudi Arabia for about four-and-a-half hours before departing for Washington.
In a CNN interview before his arrival, Obama defended Washington's close ties with Riyadh despite the kingdom's poor human rights records.
Human rights activists have been urging Obama to use his visit to Riyadh to raise concerns about growing executions and corporal punishment in the country.
Saudi Arabia has long been accused of human rights abuses and terrorism funding. The oil-rich kingdom has played a major role in supporting extremism in various countries, particularly Syria.
Under King Abdullah’s rule, Saudi Arabia gradually became an incubator for groups promoting extremism and Takfirism. Off-shoots of al-Qaeda also managed to expand their domain of influence in the Middle East and North Africa.
AHT/GJH
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