Saudi King not attending Obama's Persian Gulf summit. . . but is it a snub over Iran?
Analysts claim Salman's absence may be signof his frustration with American policy on Iran
Saudi Arabia said its new king won't attend this week's long-planned summit for Persian Gulf countries at the US presidential retreat, in what may be a sign of frustration with Washington over its Iran policy.
King Salman's decision to stay at home comes as US President Barack Obama's administration is trying to restore the flagging confidence of Gulf Arab leaders in US leadership.
The Saudi king had been expected to meet with Obama tomorrow at the White House "to build on their close consultations" on a range of issues and then attend the summit at Camp David in Maryland on Thursday, White House spokesman Eric Schultz said at a press conference on Friday.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir instead issued a statement on Sunday saying the king won't visit "due to the timing of the summit, the scheduled humanitarian ceasefire in Yemen and the opening of the King Salman Centre for Humanitarian Aid".
Tensions between the US and the Sunni Arab nations can affect interests from the stability of the region that holds the world's largest oil reserves to the security of Israel, the war against Islamic extremism and the ability of US defence contractors to compete for sales with European, Russian and Chinese competitors.
Salman's absence could be seen as a snub to Obama's administration, said Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"The king's decision suggests that, despite all of this, he thinks he has better things to do with his time," Alterman said.
