Obama-Saudi King discuss mutual interest

U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday called Saudi King Abdullah to discuss “a range of issues of mutual interest.”

“The two leaders reaffirmed the strong and enduring bilateral relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia, and discussed a range of issues of mutual interest as part of their ongoing consultations,” the White House said in a brief statement.

The statement made no mention of the subjects discussed by the two leaders.

The phone talks came as the world is exploring ways to lead Syria out of a morass of violence and bloodshed that has plagued the Middle East country since mid-March 2011.

Saudi Arabia is a known critic of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and a supporter of the opposition.

In addition, Iran’s nuclear program is a top concern of both Washington and Riyadh, and Washington is set to begin on June 28 to punish those countries that continue to purchase Iranian oil.

Despite a drop from a four-year high of 128 U.S. dollars per barrel in March to 96.63 dollars in oil price, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided on Thursday to keep its output ceiling at 30 million barrels per day set out last December.

As the top producer of the cartel, Saudi Arabia did not bend over pressure from other members to cut back supply so as to maintain the
benchmark crude oil price at 100 dollars a barrel. <Xinhua>

news@theasian.asia где выгоднее взять потребительский кредит