Crown Prince sets sights on thorny issues

washington — Saudi Arabia’s crown prince received an effusive welcome at the White House on Tuesday from US President Donald Trump, who hailed a “great friendship” with the kingdom — but made no public mention of the sticking points in the burgeoning alliance.

In front of the cameras, it was all back-slapping, handshakes, smiles and warm words between Trump and the heir to the Saudi throne, Mohammed bin Salman, who was seeking to burnish his leadership credentials.

“It is an honor to have the crown prince of Saudi Arabia with us,” Trump said as the pair prepared to have lunch in the Cabinet Room.

“The relationship is probably the strongest it’s ever been — we understand

It is an honour to have the crown prince of Saudi Arabia with us. The relationship is probably the strongest it’s ever been — we understand each other Donald Trump

each other.”Trump, touching on the sensitive shaking out happening inside the kingdom, said “some tremendous things have happened since your last visit to the White House.”

“You were the crown prince, and now you are beyond the crown prince,” he said, before adding that he misses Prince Mohammed’s father and hopes to see him soon.

Prince Mohammed’s reformist message and the promise of Saudi investment in the United States has endeared him to the neophyte US president — 39 years his elder — and America’s own political princeling Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.

Trump and MBS have seen eyeto-eye on concerns about Iran’s military activism, Middle East peace, relaxing Saudi Arabia’s laws and over their love for mega-investments.

“Saudi Arabia is a very wealthy nation and they are going to give the United States some of that wealth hopefully, in the form of jobs, in the form of the purchase of the finest military equipment anywhere in the world,” Trump said.

There were expressions of concern about a US law that exposes Saudi Arabia to legal action over the 9/11 attacks, which Riyadh would dearly like to see removed.

The most delicate discussions could be about Saudi Arabia’s nuclear programme, which is mooted as civilian-focused but could quickly become a platform for building a weapon.

“Saudi Arabia does not want to acquire any nuclear bomb, but without a doubt, if Iran developed a nuclear bomb, we will follow suit as soon as possible,” Prince Mohammed told CBS television in a recent interview. One US official said: “The president’s meeting with the crown prince is a tremendous opportunity to make progress on a range of issues. —