AFP, RIYADH: US President Barack Obama met Gulf leaders in Saudi Arabia on Thursday to push for increased efforts against the Islamic State group, despite strains in their ties with Washington. On what is likely his final presidential visit to historic American allies, Obama is seeking to overcome recent tensions with Sunni Arab Gulf states rooted in US overtures to their regional rival Shiite Iran. With IS suffering a series of recent setbacks in areas under its control in Syria and Iraq, Washington is seeking more help from the oil-rich Gulf monarchies to keep up the pressure.
After talks with Saudi King Salman the day before, Obama posed Thursday for a summit photo with leaders of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) before heading into four hours of talks at a royal palace. In a highly unusual move, Saudi state news channel Al-Ekhbaria did not broadcast the start of the meeting, just as it did not show Obama’s airport arrival on Wednesday. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states belong to the US-led coalition that has been carrying out air strikes against IS in Syria and Iraq since mid-2014.
Ben Rhodes, a close adviser to Obama, said there were also “political steps that can be taken”, as Iraq would need assistance to hold on to and rebuild areas reclaimed from IS. US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter—in Riyadh with Obama—on Wednesday urged his Gulf counterparts “to do more”.  Syria, where Saudi Arabia and its Sunni allies have long backed the opposition, was also up for discussion at the summit. “I think Syria will obviously be a big focus, ensuring that the Saudis focus their diplomatic energies on the ceasefire, perhaps soliciting more Saudi support on refugees. But then also asking the Saudis to do more on the Islamic State,” said Frederic Wehrey of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Washington hopes the ceasefire, and peace talks in Geneva, can help resolve Syria’s broader conflict to focus attention on the fight against IS and other jihadist groups. It has the same hope for Yemen. US Secretary of State John Kerry also joined Obama in Riyadh, where he held talks with Saudi Arabia’s powerful Deputy Crown Prince and Defence Minister Mohammed bin Salman. The full-scale diplomatic offensive follows months of rising tensions between the United States and the Gulf monarchies, which have for decades enjoyed strong security ties with Washington. Obama’s perceived tilt towards their arch-rival Iran has been a particular concern, with Gulf states worried that Tehran will be emboldened to seek a still bigger regional role after the lifting of sanctions under its landmark nuclear deal with major powers led by the United States. Rhodes said it is not the first time there have been tensions in the more than 70-year-old Saudi-US relationship.
“On the core issues—supporting its security and cooperating in anti-terrorism—cooperation remains strong,” he said. There is also broad agreement on the general direction of the region, aiming to see IS defeated and Iraq maintain its unity and stability, he said. “We share concerns about Iran’s destabilising activities”, Rhodes said, but “even as we are vigilant, we have to have an openness to pursuing diplomatic solutions with Iran”.
Saudi Arabia cut its ties with Tehran in January after its diplomatic missions there were stormed by mobs following Riyadh’s execution of a Shiite cleric. Prince Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia’s former intelligence chief, told CNN that Obama’s conduct and declarations have made Saudi Arabia realise that the relationship has changed. “My personal view is that America has changed,” he said. “How far we can go with our dependence on America? How much can we rely on steadfastness from American leadership? What is it that makes for our joint benefits to come together? These are things that we have to recalibrate,” the senior royal said. On Yemen, Rhodes said the summit “takes place at a moment of particular promise and opportunity to resolve the conflict” in Saudi Arabia’s neighbour. A Saudi-led coalition launched a military intervention against Iran-backed Shiite rebels in Yemen last year and UN-supported peace talks to end the conflict are due to begin this week in Kuwait.
But jihadists have exploited the Yemen conflict to strengthen their presence in the country’s south. On the bilateral front, Rhodes said Wednesday’s “very open and honest discussion” between Salman and Obama included human rights. Obama did not raise specific cases in their two-hour-long meeting but alluded to “sentences given out to bloggers.” The case of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, arrested in 2012 and sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years’ prison, has generated a global outcry.