The two also discussed “the challenges posed by Iran’s provocative activities in the region, agreeing on the importance of an inclusive approach to de-escalating regional conflicts”, the White House said.
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The summit follows bilateral talks that Obama held with Saudi King Salman on Wednesday shortly after arriving in the kingdom.
US President Barack Obama (C) speaks with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia (R) at Erga Palace in Riyadh on April 20, 2016. “And Saudi Arabia is going to be an important part of that”.
Saudi King Salman sat on Obama’s left. Yet he failed to win the commitments he sought to boost economic aid to Iraq.
King Salman offered similarly gracious words for the president, who is paying his fourth trip here for face-to-face meetings and photos with royal rulers since becoming president.
U.S. officials said there was broad consensus among the leaders on key regional issues including defeating Islamic State, restoring stability in Yemen and the path to a political transition in Syria, but that tactical differences remained. “It’s clear who our allies and who our partners are”.
Ben Rhodes, Mr Obama’s deputy national security adviser, told reporters at a briefing in Riyadh that strains in ties in recent years reflected differences over tactics rather than goals.
Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and other Gulf countries joined the US-led bombing campaign against the jihadist militants, though American officials say their allies’ involvement has tapered off.
US President Barack Obama waves as he boards a plane at King Khalid International Airport following a US-Gulf Cooperation Council Summit in Riyadh.
The president’s visit came at a hard time for such requests.
A Saudi-led coalition launched a military intervention against Iran-backed Shiite rebels in Yemen a year ago and UN-supported peace talks to end the conflict are due to begin this week in Kuwait.
Unusually, Saudi state news channel Al-Ekhbaria did not broadcast Obama’s arrival as it did during his visit previous year to pay respects after the death of Salman’s predecessor, King Abdullah. Yet the leaders appeared reluctant to invest until Iraq’s government overcomes a political crisis and better integrates Sunnis into the process.
However, he also raised the issue of sectarianism, for which he has chided Gulf states in the past on grounds it fuels Islamist militancy, saying “the prosperity and stability of the region depends on countries treating all their citizens fairly and. sectarianism is an enemy of peace and prosperity”.
He also said that “we welcome an Iran that plays a responsible role in the region – one that takes concrete, practical steps to build trust and resolve its differences with its neighbors by peaceful means and abides by global rules and norms”.
But he also said the United States would stay vigilant to Tehran’s activities.
He added that the meeting was preparatory to the summit between GCC leaders and Obama.
“They’ve got a lot on their plate”, Obama said. And as The New York Times reported over the weekend, the Saudi government is threatening to sell off almost a trillion dollars in assets held in the US if the bill passes. The controversy has led some in Congress to push legislation allowing families of 9/11 victims to sue the Saudi government for compensation.
United States support for the lifting of sanctions against Iran in the run-up to last year’s landmark nuclear agreement has strained ties between Washington and its traditional Gulf allies.
“We remain united in our fight to destroy (IS)”, he said.
Rhodes said President Obama made the point to Gulf leaders that their concern with Iran “should not foreclose the potential for diplomatic engagement if there’s an ability to resolve problems”.
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The president’s hopes of winding down US military engagement in the Mideast have repeatedly been confounded by conflicts that have flared in countries struggling to contain extremists.
