The leader of Saudi Arabia will not take part in talkswith U.S. and other Arab officials this week. ForeignMinister Adel al-Jubeir announced on the decisionon Sunday. He said King Salman will send CrownPrince Mohammed bin Nayef to the U.S.-Arabsummit in Washington.
The summit opens Wednesday at the White House.President Barack Obama will welcome representativesof the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council. Then,on Thursday, the talks move to Camp David in themountains of Maryland. Since the 1950s, presidentshave used Camp David to hold meetings away from the noise of Washington and the newsmedia.
U.S. officials say the talks are to include discussions on deepening security cooperation withGulf nations and "seeking common approaches" to the conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen.
An Obama administration official said King Salman's decision to stay in Saudi Arabia was "notin response to any substantive issue."
Saudi Arabia has led airstrikes against anti-government fighters in Yemen. Mr. Jubeir cited thesummit's overlap with a five-day cease-fire and humanitarian efforts there.
Now, only the leaders of Qatar and Kuwait will be heading their delegations. Kuwait's emir,Sabah Ahmad al-Sabah, traveled to Washington on Sunday. Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim binHamad Al Thani was to leave Doha on Monday.
Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said and United Arab Emirates President Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan are missing the summit for health reasons. The delegation from Bahrain will be led byits crown prince, not King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa. Bahrain's government has not said why theKing is not attending.
Middle East expert Jonathan Adelman is with the University of Denver in Colorado. He sayshealth and the ceasefire are not the only reasons for the absences of several leaders. He saysanother problem is disagreements over the direction of international nuclear negotiations withIran.
Mr. Adelman says that for the United States, Iran is a far-away land and that fact affects U.S.policies and plans. He says officials in Washington think of Iranian officials as somewhatreasonable.
"The Iranians are seen as quasi rational actors, that with the kind of good deal they're going tobe offered, they're going to basically, to put it in simple language, they are going to behave."
But he notes Iran is very near the countries invited to the summit. He says Saudi Arabia, forexample, is about 560 kilometers from Iran. He says Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Arabcountries are deeply afraid of Iran's Shiite fundamentalism.
"It's a real difference in perception between the two sides and I think the Saudis and Emiratesare really deeply afraid because they don't, well they have deep pockets, they don't haveexceptionally first rate militaries."
Jonathan Adelman says he does not think the U.S. will be able to persuade the Sunni Arabcountries to support the nuclear deal that is forming. He says those countries first want asecurity agreement with the U.S. similar to NATO. Or, he says, they want U.S. assistance instrengthening their militaries.
Mr. Adelman says the Obama administration does not seem interested in either idea. And, hesays, the U.S. does not appear interested in forming such an alliance.
"It is possible it (the summit) will be a success but I think the fact that the three leaders arenot coming is a telltale sign that the odds are stacked against it."
Professor Nabeel Khoury of Northwestern University agrees that the leaders' absence hurtschances for success at the summit. He says he also is not hopeful about the U.S. and Saudiceasefire plan for Yemen. He said it should help in getting aid to those in need, but not servethe larger goal of ending the Shi'ite Houthi rebellion in the country.
"It's not a hopeful sign in terms of the broader agreement that one is looking for. In otherwords: stopping this war and moving to the negotiation tables again in a much more effectiveway than was achieved in the past."
