Persian Gulf states have decided to cool the temperature and accentuate the positive in meetings with U.S. officials as part of a highly anticipated summit beginning on Wednesday, according to Arab diplomatic officials.
The gulf countries have been seeking a more significant upgrade of their security alliance than the U.S. is willing to confer. The interest in a formal defense pact comes amid policy differences with the U.S. on Iran and other regional dynamics.
But the gulf allies are still on track to receive more weapons, training and other important boosts in their status, to be worked out in discussions at the White House and Camp David this week.
The foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council — a union of the oil-rich monarchies of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — met Tuesday night and agreed that, though they weren’t getting everything they wanted from the U.S., they are going to build on what they are getting. They want this to be the first of a regular summit, with the next one in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, next year.
Still, the lack of participation by GCC leaders has been widely perceived as a sign that many of its members are displeased with what the U.S. is offering and want to convey displeasure at various administration policies, including talks with Iran over its nuclear program.
Only the leaders of Qatar and Kuwait are attending, with the king of Saudi Arabia canceling at the last minute and Bahrain’s king attending the Royal Windsor Horse Show in the U.K. While there, he is expected to meet with Queen Elizabeth II.
At the summit kickoff Wednesday, however, there were no signs of tension as President Barack Obama welcomed two officials from Saudi Arabia to the White House and declared the relationship between the two countries remained strong.
The meeting came the day before Obama was set to decamp to his presidential retreat in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland with the representatives of the six gulf nations, determined to resolve differences over Iran nuclear negotiations and regional security.
“The United States and Saudi Arabia have an extraordinary relationship and friendship that dates back to Franklin Roosevelt,” Obama said at the beginning of his meeting in the Oval Office with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Both U.S. administration officials and Saudi government aides said there was no snub intended by Saudi King Salman’s withdrawal of his RSVP over the weekend.
Saudi Arabia “has been absolutely critical not only to maintaining stability in the region but also protecting the American people,” Obama said.
Obama took a tough tone on Iran in a rare interview in a foreign newspaper, telling Asharq al Awsat in a story published Wednesday that the country “clearly engages in dangerous and destabilizing behavior in different countries across the region.”
“Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism,” Obama said in the interview. “So countries in the region are right to be deeply concerned about Iran’s activities, especially its support for violent proxies inside the borders of other nations.”
The language appeared partly designed to help assuage fears among gulf leaders about the empowered Iran that they fear could result from a successful nuclear deal with the United States and other international negotiating partners.
In his Oval Office comments Wednesday, Obama said he also planned to discuss with the Saudi officials the ongoing unrest in Yemen, where a brief ceasefire appears to be holding after violence erupted between Shi’ite rebels and pro-government forces. Saudi Arabia led an air campaign to beat back the Houthi rebels, believed to be controlled partly by Iran, Saudi Arabia’s regional rival.
Before the meetings began on Wednesday, administration officials said the White House is moving toward significantly upgrading the status of its alliance with key Middle East states, and is likely to provide “major non-NATO ally” status to GCC members.
Such a designation provides privileges only otherwise available to NATO allies, including special military training and assistance. It could also loosen restrictions on weapons sales.
While these arrangements are ones the gulf states are eager for, the move falls short of the formal defense pact several gulf states are seeking.
