Obama, Saudi deputy crown prince confer

Obama met in the Oval Office Friday with Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the son of King Salman.

This week Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is touring the United States in support of those economic reforms, reportedly meeting with business executives in Silicon Valley and NY.

The deputy crown prince is on a visit to the United States aimed at restoring frayed relations with Washington and to promote a plan to slash the kingdom’s dependence on oil revenues.

Dressed in traditional Saudi robes and a red, checkered head scarf, Salman entered the White House in front of a line of photographers eager to grab a photo of the 30-year-old royal.

White House spokeswoman Jennifer Friedman said Mr Obama thanked Saudi Arabia for its contribution to the coalition fighting ISIL.

The two also talked about the deadly Orlando shootings on Sunday, and “expressed their shared commitment to continue their cooperation in combatting the spread of violent extremism, both regionally and internationally”, a state department spokesman said.

Saudi Arabia is widely viewed as one of the major supporters of Daesh, mainly operating in Syria and Iraq.

In a speech given in Orlando Thursday commemorating the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting, Obama seemed to call out Saudi Arabia, a country with a notorious history of oppressing and even executing gays and lesbians.

Obama and Salman also discussed resolving conflicts in Syria and Yemen and expressed support for Libya’s government as well as addressing Gulf support for the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people.

Saudi Arabia launched its military attacks against Yemen in March past year in a bid to bring Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi back to power and crush the Houthi movement.

The UN had prepared a report on children serving in armed conflicts that blamed the Saudi-led coalition for 60 per cent of the casualties in the Yemen fighting, including 510 children killed and 667 injured past year.

The Saudi prince’s visit to the USA came as relations between the two countries have recently become strained over a number of issues, including Riyadh’s alleged role in the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Questioned about the possible release of US classified documents reportedly showing Saudi Arabian ties to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, Jubeir said the Saudi kingdom had requested the release of those documents in 2002 when they were first deemed “classified” by the United States.