by Mark Silva
President Barack Obama is adding a stop in Saudi Arabia next week to his travels through Egypt and Europe, as part of an appeal for renewed Middle East peace talks.
Obama will meet with Saudi's King Abdullah in Riyadh on June 3 to discuss an array of issues, including the pursuit of peace in the Middle East, Iran's nuclear ambitions and the threat of terrorism, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said today.
The president will not make any public appearances there, saving that for his stop in Cairo the next day, with a public address to the Muslim world -- an address that he promised to make within a few months of entering office.
Following the speech in speech in Egypt on U.S. relations with the Muslim world, Obama plans a stop at the Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany, before heading to Normandy, France, to commemorate the 65th anniversary of D-Day.
The last presidential visit to Riyadh, former President George W. Bush's last stop there, focused primarily on convincing the Saudis to loosen the spigot of oil production -- which yielded only a slight concession from the world's largest oil producer. Since then, world oil prices have fallen to a fraction of what they were on Bush's watch.
Comments
Write to your congresspeople and tell them to support President Obama's Middle East peace making initiatives and support moderates in Israel and Palestine. It is the only way to stop wingnuttia from breaking out.
Posted by: Speaking Truth to Power - Teresa | May 26, 2009 5:30 PM
The fact that President Obama had his early rearing and formative school years in a heavily Muslim country (Indonesia) and had a Muslim father will stand him in good stead with world Muslims. They very likely will consider him one of them, which should help boost his agenda.
Posted by: Sayeed | May 26, 2009 7:02 PM
His visit to the middle East will probable help him put more fire on Israel and boost Iran, which would be a mistake.
Posted by: Inky | May 27, 2009 11:45 AM