CIA chief holds talks with Saudi king in Riyadh

By Ahmed al-Masri

RIYADH

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz on Monday held talks with Mike Pompeo, the director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), in capital Riyadh, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.

Discussions tackled bilateral relations and recent developments in the region, the SPA reported.

Monday’s meeting was also attended by the king's son, Prince Khalid bin Salman, who also serves as the kingdom’s ambassador to Washington, along with Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, intelligence chief Khalid al-Humaidan and royal court chief Khalid al-Issa.

Pompeo is the first high-level U.S. official to visit the region since U.S. President Donald Trump on Dec. 6 recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, drawing angry reactions from across the Arab and Muslim world.

At an extraordinary summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), held last week in Istanbul, participants responded to the U.S. move by formally recognizing East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestine dispute, with Palestinians hoping East Jerusalem -- now occupied by Israel -- might eventually serve as the capital of a sovereign Palestinian state.