Obama 'cleared the air' - Gulf to step up on day 2 of Saudi visit

Obama looking for Gulf to step up on day 2 of Saudi visit

 

White House: Obama 'cleared the air' with Saudi Arabia

By Nicole Gaouette, Kevin Liptak, Michelle Kosinski and Nic Robertson, CNN

Updated 0908 GMT (1608 HKT) April 21, 2016 By Kevin Liptak, CNN White House Producer

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (CNN)A day after his longer-than-planned talks with Saudi King Salman partially eased some long-simmering tensions, President Barack Obama was working Thursday to persuade other Gulf leaders to take a more muscular role in stabilizing their region.

But in his group meetings with the various Kings, Emirs and Sultans of the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar, Obama was expected to face the same skepticism that has clouded ties between Washington and Riyadh: fears over a resurgent Iran, doubts at Obama's Syria strategy, and differences in fighting terror.

Obama starts talks with Gulf leaders aimed at easing strains

RIYADH U.S. President Barack Obama and Gulf Arab leaders started talks in Riyadh on Thursday at a summit aimed at forging joint action on perceived security threats from Iran and Islamic State, and at ironing out strains in their old alliance.