Trump scandals no issue for Saudis, minister says

Energy minister al-Falih hails US president’s ‘great leadership,’ says Saudi Arabia backs new American approach to region

By AFP 21 May 2017, 3:33 pm

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US President Donald Trump, center, attends a meeting with leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council at the King Abdulaziz Conference Center in Riyadh, May 21, 2017. (AFP/MANDEL NGAN)

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — The scandals besetting US President Donald Trump at home have no bearing on an increasingly close relationship with Saudi Arabia, a senior Saudi cabinet minister said on Sunday.

“Absolutely not. Our relationship is with the United States of America and it has great leadership today,” Khaled al-Falih, minister of energy, industry and mineral resources, told AFP on the sidelines of summits between Trump and Muslim leaders from around the world.

“We are very encouraged by the position the Trump administration has taken.”

The past week has seen a string of major developments in Trump’s domestic woes, including the announcement that James Comey, the former FBI chief fired by Trump, has agreed to testify publicly about Russian interference in the US elections last year.

Some aggressive Democrats have begun to discuss methods for Trump’s ouster.

This file photo taken on March 20, 2017 shows FBI Director James Comey during the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence hearing on Russian actions during the 2016 election campaign on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (AFP Photo/Nicholas Kamm) — This photo taken on March 20, 2017, shows FBI Director James Comey during the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence hearing on Russian actions during the 2016 election campaign on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (AFP Photo/Nicholas Kamm)

Reports also emerged that Trump called Comey “a nut job” and that the FBI has identified a senior White House official as a “significant person of interest” in its probe of Russian meddling.

But Saudi Arabia has embraced Trump, after disappointment with his predecessor Barack Obama’s perceived distance from the Middle East’s problems, and a tilt toward Riyadh’s rival Iran.

Trump and King Salman on Saturday signed a “strategic vision” agreement to intensify ties in defense, economics and other areas.

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir , right, and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson hold a press conference following a bilateral meeting in Riyadh on May 20, 2017. (AFP/Fayez Nureldine) — Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir, right, and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson hold a press conference following a bilateral meeting in Riyadh on May 20, 2017. (AFP/Fayez Nureldine)

“Today was a truly historic day in the relationship between the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States,” Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Saturday at a press conference with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

“And we believe it’s the beginning of a turning point in the relationship between the United States and the Arab and Islamic world.”