Saudi ruler to skip US-Gulf Camp David summit

The King of Saudi Arabia, Salman Bin Abdulaziz, will not attend the proposed summit at Camp David between the United States and allied Gulf leaders, a senior official has announced in Riyadh.

Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said on Sunday that the king has delegated the Interior Minister and Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Nayef Bin Abdulaziz, to head the Saudi delegation at Camp David, which will also include Deputy Crown Prince and Defence Minister Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz. President Barack Obama was scheduled to meet King Salman on Wednesday ahead of the scheduled summit. Al-Jubeir pointed out that the king is keen to achieve peace and security in Yemen and to speed the provision of humanitarian relief and assistance to the Yemeni people.

The summit, added the foreign minister, coincides with the beginning of a humanitarian ceasefire in Yemen and the opening of King Salman Centre for Relief and Humanitarian Action. Media reports claim that US Secretary of State John Kerry met with his GCC counterparts last week and presented a package of decisions that the Obama administration hopes to be satisfactory for its Gulf partners, mainly Saudi Arabia. Kerry met with his Gulf counterparts in Paris on the sidelines of events commemorating the 70th anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day.

Obama is expected to renew his efforts at Camp David to help America’s allies in the Gulf to deploy a defence system to protect the region against Iranian missiles as part of his quest to calm their fears over a nuclear deal with Tehran. US officials said that the offer could include sophisticated security equipment and sales of new weapons, as well as more joint military exercises.