Obama Arrives in Saudi Arabia Amid a New Round of Contention - nytimes

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — President Obama and King Salman of Saudi Arabia met in Riyadh on Wednesday amid deepening tensions between their two governments over Iran, the fight against terrorism and the potential release of long-delayed documents said to implicate Saudi officials in the Sept. 11 attacks.

Mr. Obama arrived at Erga Palace after a brief motorcade trip along an empty highway lined with palm trees and past well-manicured royal grounds.

The president and the king briefly traded pleasantries under a large glass chandelier in a reception room before beginning their private meeting.

“I and the Saudi people are very pleased that you, Mr. President, are visiting us in the kingdom,” King Salman said.

Mr. Obama responded that the American people were “very grateful for your hospitality.”

But the brief exchange was hardly representative of the contentious issues on the agenda for both leaders. Mr. Obama arrived in the kingdom barely a day after publicly expressing support for releasing documents about possible Saudi involvement in the 2001 terrorist attacks.

The documents — 28 pages of intelligence from a congressional report — have fueled suspicions for years, despite the conclusion of the official 9/11 Commission that no senior officials in the kingdom were involved in the attacks.

The charge, which Saudi officials deny, is one of a series of delicate diplomatic issues that Mr. Obama is certain to confront during discussions with the Saudi monarch.

The Obama administration’s deal with Iran to limit that country’s nuclear program has unnerved the kingdom. The president’s decision not to order airstrikes against the forces of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria in 2013 was viewed in the kingdom as hesitation in the face of an implacable foe. And the Saudis were angered by Mr. Obama’s comments in a recent article in The Atlantic in which he suggested that Persian Gulf countries were not pulling their weight in assuring the region’s security. - Read More

Obama Arrives in Saudi Arabia Amid a New Round of Contention

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