King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, shakes hands with US President Barack Obama in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington Tuesday. – ReutersWASHINGTON – President Barack Obama says he and King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, have agreed on the need to press for Middle East peace in a “significant and bold way,” including the creation of a Palestinian homeland. The two leaders briefly addressed reporters Tuesday after finishing a private meeting and lunch. Obama said he and King Abdullah covered Afghanistan and Pakistan, efforts to combat extremism and Iran's attempts to obtain nuclear weapon capability. The president praised what he called a strong, strategic relationship with Saudi Arabia, which holds considerable leverage in the Middle East. Obama told the King he appreciated his friendship and counsel. King Abdullah said Obama is respected around the world as an “honorable man.” Obama held a working lunch with the King at the White House, before huddling in Oval Office talks. Bruce Hoffman, head of the RAND Corporation's Washington bureau, a major political thought and research institute in the US capital, said that the Saudi-US summit will allow the US to put into effect mid- and long-term strategies with the Kingdom based on joint interests and peace and security. Hoffman said that decisive solutions were still being sought for the “violence and terrorism” afflicting the world, but that collaboration between Riyadh and Washington had had a significant effect on strengthening international efforts to combat terrorism and its sources. “It's not just a question of creating a strategic partnership with the US to fight terrorism, but also one of bringing goals into effect,” Hoffman said, “to bring about political security and stability and achieve peace in an international society free of extremist terrorist ideology.” The first meeting between King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and Barack Obama on June 3, 2009, and President Obama's speech one day later in Cairo helped bridge the distance between the Islamic World and the former US administration of Gorge Bush, and observers say that the Arab World is depending on King Abdullah to urge the US administration to pressure Israel. Observers note that the significance of Middle East issues follows recent developments as well as the solid relations between the two countries.
