FOREIGN POLICY/SAUDI ARABIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump hosted Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia for lunch at the White House on Tuesday, moving to forge a warmer relationship with the kingdom after a period of tension between the United States and a longstanding ally.
The lunch was an early effort by Mr. Trump to engage with Prince Mohammed, the defense minister of Saudi Arabia. Hopes are high in Riyadh for improved relations with the United States after strained diplomacy between the Obama administration and the Saudis, particularly over the nuclear deal with Iran.
The visit — initially expected to be a short meet-and-greet but turned at the last moment into a formal lunch — was a chance for the two men to also discuss Yemen, where a civil war has pitted Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels against a Saudi-led coalition of mostly Sunni Arab countries with American support, and where the United States is stepping up a campaign against Al Qaeda. Mr. Trump faces a decision on whether to resume arms sales to the Saudis.”
-Juilie Hirschfeld Davis, “Trump Meets Saudi Prince as U.S. and Kingdom Seek Warmer Relations,” The New York Times online, March 14, 2017