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| King's Decision to Skip Summit Sign |
| King's Decision to Skip Summit Signals a Saudi-U.S. Marriage on Rocks
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| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
, 12-May-2015
22:5:51 PM |
| The decision by King Salman of Saudi Arabia to skip a summit meeting called by President Barack Obama reflects a new reality for two nations that for generations shared goals in the Middle East but that are now at odds in fundamental ways.
Both countries insisted on Monday that the king's absence was not a snub, even as it was hard to ignore four powerful factors that have led to rising tensions between the two nations: the administration's pursuit of a nuclear accord with Iran, the rise of the Islamic State in the region, the regional unrest that came to be known as the Arab Spring and the transformation of world energy markets.
The decline in oil prices in particular has liberated the United States from its dependence on Riyadh and changed a decades-long power dynamic.
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To the extent that this week's meetings of Persian Gulf leaders at the White House and Camp David were intended to help smooth over those divisions, an opportunity has slipped away. And the future looks even more complicated if the two countries head down different paths toward their perceived security.
"There's no question there have been differences. That's been true for some time," said Philip Gordon, who stepped down a month ago as the White House coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa and the Persian Gulf region. "The relationship is not a sentimental one. We each have interests and if we show we're willing to work with them on their core interests, they will show they're willing to do that with us."
The question is whether each is willing. In the 70 years since Franklin D. Roosevelt met with King Abdul Aziz, the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia has been a complicated marriage of shared interests,
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