Cheney visits Saudi Arabia
Dick Cheney meeting with the Yemeni president on a previous trip to the Gulf region
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Saturday, 25, Nov 2006 04:25
US vice-president Dick Cheney has arrived in Riyadh on an official visit to Saudi Arabia to discuss regional issues.
Mr Cheney is set to meet with a number of senior Saudi government officials to discuss a number of issues currently afflicting the unstable middle east region.
Among the topics likely to be discussed are the descent into civil war in Iraq, the continued presence of Hamas in Gaza, the fragility of Fouad Siniora's government in Lebanon and the threat posed by Iran's continued development of nuclear technology.
"The vice president is looking forward to meeting with King Abdullah, a strong ally, to discuss regional issues of mutual interest," Lea Anne McBridge, spokesperson for Mr Cheney, said.
Mr Cheney's visit comes amid a battle for international diplomatic influence about the future of the middle east, following the invitation by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that a tripartite summit could take place between himself, Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki and the Syrians on the fate of Iraq next week.
While prospects for that summit now appear to have broken down, the US is continuing to boost the legitimacy of its continued much-felt presence in the region, especially following the apparently negative reaction of the American electorate in this month's midterm elections.
Mr Cheney was himself in part responsible for the Republicans' poor showing the midterms, thanks to comments he made a week before polling day suggesting that he viewed using a form of water torture on terror suspects as a "no-brainer".
The vice president's trip to Riyadh comes a week before president George Bush visits Jordan, where he is set to meet Mr Al-Maliki to discuss the deteriorating situation in Iraq.