Intense Saudi talks launch Obama Mideast mission
SAUDI ARABIA: President Barack Obama held intense talks with
Saudi King Abdullah on Middle East peace moves Wednesday, but on the eve
of a major speech to Muslims, faced a barrage of new threats from Osama
bin Laden.
The US President launched his debut regional diplomatic mission with
a red-carpet welcome and a kiss on both cheeks from the king, a key
regional power broker who also serves as protector of the two holiest
sites in Islam.
But minutes after Air Force One touched down in Riyadh, Al-Jazeera
television aired a combative new audiotape from the fugitive Al-Qaeda
chief.
Joining a battle for the hearts and minds of the Arab world, bin
Laden accused Obama of perpetuating former president George W. Bush’s
policies of “antagonising Muslims.”
Obama and King Abdullah held talks at the monarch’s sprawling farm
outside Riyadh in the president’s first foray into tricky personal
diplomacy in the region, after a flurry of talks with Middle East
leaders in Washington.
“I thought it was very important to come to the place where Islam
began and to seek His Majesty’s counsel,” Obama said.
The King presented Obama with a gold medallion, known as the King
Abdul Aziz Collar, considered the kingdom’s highest honour, and called
him a “distinguished man who deserves to be in this position.”
The White House said the lengthy meeting, which included personal
one-on-one talks between the leaders, ranged through Middle East peace,
Afghanistan and Pakistan, energy and Iran’s nuclear drive, but gave no
further details.
King Abdullah has been seeking to relaunch a 2002 Arab-backed Middle
East peace initiative, which has been praised by the Obama
administration.
But it was unclear whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu’s tough stand on settlements would dim US hopes of convincing
the Arab world to make concessions towards Israel to inject momentum
into the process.
The Saudi initiative calls for full normalisation of relations
between Arab states and Israel, a full withdrawal by Israel from Arab
land, the creation of a Palestinian state and an “equitable” solution
for Palestinian refugees.
Obama’s speech on yesterday at Cairo University fulfills a campaign
promise to address the Muslim world after relations soured over the
deeply unpopular Iraq war. Riyadh, Thursday, AFP |
