White House Denies Obama’s Gulf Overtures Are Unraveling
The White House on Monday raced to dispel the notion that President Barack Obama’s efforts to reassure anxious Persian Gulf nations about his overtures to Iran were unraveling ahead of a rare Camp David summit this week.
Officials insisted there was no weakening in ties between the U.S. and the Gulf, despite the fact that just two other heads of state will join Obama for Thursday’s meetings at the presidential retreat in the Maryland mountains. The rulers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman are skipping the summit and instead sending lower-ranking, yet highly influential representatives.
“We very much feel we have the right group around the table,” said Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser.
The absence of Saudi Arabia’s newly crowned King Salman in particular has sparked questions about summit’s effectiveness. The Saudis are bitter rivals with Iran and among the most outspoken critics of Obama’s nuclear detente with Tehran.
Adding to the diplomatic intrigue: Saudi Arabia’s announcement Sunday that Salman would not travel to the U.S. came just two days after White House officials said Obama and the king would hold one-on-one talks in Washington ahead of the Camp David meeting. (Read more from “White House Denies Obama’s Gulf Overtures Are Unraveling” HERE)
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