US President George W. Bush concluded his visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday in the context of his Mideast tour, where he tried without much success to solicit pledges for higher oil output and for confronting the "threat" of Iran besides promoting Palestinian-Israeli peace process.

 

During his two-day stay in Riyadh, President Bush discussed with Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz a series of issues, among them Iran, oil prices and Middle East peace process.

 

During his visits in Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait, Bush voiced concern over what he believes as "the real Iranian threats" against the pro-western Gulf states in light of Iran's ambitions on having nuclear technology and, in the long run, nuclear weapons.

 

Here in Saudi Arabia, Bush fervently asked for a coalition against Iran, through the support of "friendly" countries and a gesture of the Arabian Gulf countries and its closet ally, Israel.

 

Bush reiterated his warning that "all options are on the table" over Iran, and said he had asked King Abdullah and other Gulf leaders to do more to pressure Tehran over its controversial nuclear program.

 

To bolster Bush's Riyadh tour, the Bush administration has agreed to sell a package of "smart bombs" to Saudi Arabia, worth 123 million dollars. Washington also endorsed sales of similar advanced weaponry to Kuwait and UAE to bolster the defense of oil- producing Arabian Gulf nations against possible threats from Iran.

 

Despite all that, he did not get much warm reaction from his Saudi hosts on the Iran issue. "Iran is a neighboring country, an important country in the region. Naturally we have nothing bad against Iran," said Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal.

Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, highlighted the significance of the Palestinian-Israeli peace process and demanded that United States play a coercive role to urge Israelis to accept a peace accord based on the legitimate rights of the Palestinians and dismantling of (Israeli) settlements in the occupied territories.

 

The Palestinian issue has remained, and will still remain, the main reason behind tension, terrorism and instability in the region if not justly resolved, said al-Faisal.

 

Under this context, Saudi Arabia says Israel's continuation of establishing settlements casts skepticism over the seriousness of negotiations aimed at the removal of occupation and restoration of the Palestinian territories.

 

Calls for higher oil output

 

Bush, preoccupied by the decline of the US currency and possible recession coupled with mortgage-related crises, struck a rather pragmatic tone during his visit to Saudi Arabia, where he said that he hoped OPEC would boost output to help ease recession fears back at home.

 

Upon arrival in Saudi Arabia, Bush urged the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to pump more oil to lower record crude prices ahead of its Feb. 1 meeting in Vienna.

 

"High energy prices can damage consuming economies," Bush told a small group of reporters traveling before meeting late Tuesday with Saudi King Abdullah, whose country holds the world's largest supply of oil and which maintains a good position on the decision of increasing oil production quotas among OPEC member countries.

 

Oil price hit 100 US dollars a barrel at the start of the year, which is tough on the US economy.

 

"I would hope that as OPEC considers different production levels they would understand that if their 'biggest consumers' economy suffers, it will mean less purchases, less oil and gas sold," Bush said in Riyadh.

 

However, the group said that there is no supply shortage. The bloc pumped an average of 32.07 million barrels a day last month, up 370,000 barrels from November. According to a survey of oil companies and producers, OPEC increased oil production by 1.2 percent in December.

 

While asserting that the US economy is significant to the oil market and demand, and no one wants to see a recession in the United States, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said Tuesday that Saudi Arabia would raise oil production only when the market justifies it, adding that inventory levels appear to be "normal."

 

On the other hand, a series of Arabian sovereign funds, flushed with liquidity due to windfall profits gained by record oil prices, have been pumping billion of dollars into ailing US financial institutions.

 

Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), with an asset estimated at 250 billion US dollars, invested 5 billion dollars in Citigroup and Merrill Lynch as the US finance companies sought fresh capital after mortgage crises that badly hit the US capital markets.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 17, 2008)