Obama pays respects to Saudis, defends ties to kingdom

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - In a show of solidarity with Saudi Arabia, President Obama led a parade of U.S. dignitaries to the desert kingdom Tuesday to pay respects after King Abdullah's death and to take the measure of the new monarch.

Obama's presence underscored the role Saudi Arabia plays in U.S. foreign policy in the region and highlighted Washington's willingness to put national security priorities ahead of concerns on human rights.

Obama, like his recent predecessors, defended his willingness to forge close ties with the kingdom despite its array of human-rights issues.

"Sometimes we need to balance our need to speak to them about human-rights issues with immediate concerns we have in terms of counterterrorism or dealing with regional stability," he said in an interview with CNN.

Michelle Obama accompanied the president during his four-hour visit to Riyadh. Some members of the all-male Saudi delegation shook her hand as they greeted the Obamas, while others simply nodded to her as they passed by.

There was disagreement over whether Saudi state television had blurred out the first lady from its broadcast. Several screen grabs appeared to show the blurring, while Saudi officials denied the assertion.

A senior administration official said the president raised the issue of human rights broadly in his discussions with King Salman, but they did not tackle specific matters, including the case of a Saudi blogger convicted of insulting Islam and sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes.

Obama was joined in Riyadh by Secretary of State John Kerry, along with Condoleezza Rice and James Baker, who led the State Department under Republican presidents. Others making the trip included Arizona Sen. John McCain, a frequent critic of Obama's foreign policy in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia's new monarch greeted Obama at the steps of Air Force One after it landed in Riyadh. The two men had met previously, but Tuesday's meetings marked their most substantive discussions.

After a lavish dinner of grilled meats and Arabic desserts at the king's personal palace, Obama and Salman spent just over an hour discussing a range of regional issues.

Salman spoke fluently about each issue without notes but did not stray from the positions the kingdom held during his half-brother Abdullah's reign, according to a U.S. official.