Obama discusses IS fight with new king

Riyadh has been part of the coalition carrying out airstrikes against extremists since last year

US President Barack Obama led a heavyweight delegation in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to meet with new King Salman, and discussed the two countries' ongoing fight against the Islamic State group, as well as the issue of Iran's nuclear program, a senior US official said.

Riyadh has been part of the US-led coalition carrying out airstrikes against the group since September and is a longtime regional ally of Washington.

But analysts say Riyadh has grown dissatisfied with what it sees as a lack of engagement by the United States in crises elsewhere, including Yemen and Libya, as it looks to Asia.

Unease has also arisen in the kingdom about Obama's pursuit of a nuclear deal with Shiite-dominated Iran, the regional rival of Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia.

Members of the 29-member bipartisan US delegation, which included former Bush-era officials, said they wanted to show support for the US-Saudi relationship.

Island of stability

"I believe it is important that we demonstrate to the Saudis the importance that they represent to us," said James Baker, secretary of state during the first Gulf War against former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

"It is an extraordinarily critical and sensitive time in the Middle East when everything seems to be falling apart, and the kingdom in some way is becoming an island of stability," Baker said.

The US delegation arrived for a four-hour stop from India, where Obama cut short a state visit following the death on Friday of Salman's predecessor, King Abdullah.

Saudi television showed Salman, 79, welcoming Obama and his wife Michelle at the bottom of a red-carpeted ramp before a military band played the US and Saudi national anthems.

In contrast to Saudi women, who traditionally dress head-to-toe in black, first lady Michelle Obama wore dark slacks and a blue top with her hair uncovered.

Obama last visited Saudi Arabia in March, when he held talks with Abdullah.

A senior US official said Obama and Salman discussed "the campaign against the Islamic State group, ... the need to continue providing support to the opposition in Syria, and the need to promote unity in Iraq".

AFP - Reuters - AP