Secretary Kerry meets with Saudis, to repair damages from Petulant Prince misbehaving…

Kerry reassures Saudis, says U.S. will step up its consultations with the kingdom
By Karen DeYoung – 4 November, 2013

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Secretary of State John F. Kerry made what amounted to an emergency fence-mending trip to Saudi Arabia on Monday, reassuring King Abdullah in a rare and lengthy meeting that the United States considers the kingdom a major partner and regional power and that the Obama administration will step up its consultation on issues important to both nations.

During his two-hour meeting with the king, and in separate sessions with Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, Kerry sought to explain President Obama’s decision to limit direct U.S. military involvement in Syria and repeated assurances he made Sunday in Cairo that the United States remains committed to strong support of Egypt.
A three-month-old Sumatran tiger cub named ‘Bandar’ shows his displeasure after being dunked in the tiger exhibit moat for a swim reliability test at the National Zoo in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2013. All cubs born at the zoo must take a swim test before being allowed to roam in the exhibit. Bandar passed his test. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Iranian team must consult with leaders back home to see what they can accept, Secretary Kerry says.

He also denied widespread speculation here that Obama is willing to accept a less-than-ironclad nuclear deal with Iran during the current round of negotiations. “The United States will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon,” Kerry said in an airport news conference with the foreign minister before departing.

“Did I give some assurances? Yes, absolutely. Of course I did,” he added.

Without acknowledging any lack of consultations, Kerry said he had made clear that “we will very much brief our friends here on a regular basis so that there are no surprises and there is a clarity to the road ahead. And I hope that . . . is a welcome process.”

Concerns among regional partners over Obama’s Middle East policies are not new. Saudi worries that Obama’s eagerness for a deal with Tehran will lead to compromise — despite the president’s frequent insistence that he will settle for no less than a non-nuclear Iran — are shared by Israel and others.

Nor were the Saudis alone in the region in their disappointment over U.S. reluctance to become more directly involved in the Syrian conflict, as well as Obama’s abrupt decision at the end of August to put on hold a planned military strike against Syria’s chemical weapons program while he consulted with Congress. …more