By Matt Spetalnick and Angus McDowall WASHINGTON/RIYADH (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack
Obama will seek to ease
Saudi concerns that he is neglecting an old ally when he visits
Riyadh on Friday, months after top Saudis objected to what they saw as a growing rapprochement between Washington and their rival Iran. Rifts over Middle East policy came to a head last year when Washington worked
with other powers to ease sanctions on Iran in exchange for concessions on its disputed nuclear programme, and backed away from air strikes on Tehran's ally Syria. Senior figures in predominantly Sunni Muslim
Saudi Arabia - which competes for influence in the region
with Shi'ite Muslim power Iran - warned in October and **vember there might be a "major shift" away from Washington and
Riyadh might "go it alone".
أكثر...