Trump Tells Saudi King That He Supports Modernization Drive
The president also discussed Saudi Arabia’s interception of a missile fired by Houthi rebels in Yemen, according to the statement, with Mr. Trump telling King Salman he would support sales of "appropriate military equipment
that would keep Saudi Arabia safe and help create American jobs." The White House also said that Mr. Trump had encouraged the king to consider listing the state-owned oil company, Saudi Aramco, on an American stock exchange.
Prince Alwaleed sparred with Mr. Trump on Twitter during the presidential election, referring to him as a "disgrace not only to the GOP but to all America." Mr. Trump fired back, also on Twitter,
that he was a "dopey prince" trying to "control our U.S. politicians with daddy’s money." Please verify you’re not a robot by clicking the box.
In an unusually lengthy and detailed readout of the call made on Saturday, the White House said
that Mr. Trump had thanked King Salman for Saudi Arabia’s support in fighting terrorism and for its purchase of military equipment from the United States.
White House said that The king and crown prince’s recent public statements regarding the need to build a moderate, peaceful
and tolerant region are essential to ensuring a hopeful future for the Saudi people, to curtailing terrorist funding, and to defeating radical ideology — once and for all — so the world can be safe from its evil,
The White House statement made no mention of the scores of arrests, including
that of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a billionaire investor who has held stakes in an array of Western companies, including the News Corporation, Citigroup and Twitter.
5, 2017
TOKYO — President Donald J. Trump has spoken with the king of Saudi Arabia to offer a wholehearted endorsement of a drive to modernize the kingdom, as the Saudi authorities arrested scores of prominent business people
and ministers in a sweeping anti-corruption crackdown.