RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — President Donald Trump is imploring Middle Eastern countries to extinguish what he calls “Islamic extremism” emanating from the region.
Speaking Sunday to Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia, Trump described the conflict as a “battle between good and evil” rather than a clash between the West and Islam.
Trump all but promised he would not publicly admonish Mideast rulers for human rights violations and oppressive reigns. That’s a pointed departure from the approach taken by his predecessor, former President Barack Obama.
Instead, Trump said he’s offering a partnership based on shared interests and values in pursuit of “a better future for us all.”
The president’s address is the centerpiece of his two-day visit to Saudi Arabia, his first overseas trip since his January swearing-in.
President Donald Trump has cast the elusive pursuit of peace between Israelis and Palestinians as the “ultimate deal.”
But he’ll arrive in Israel on Monday having offered few indications of how he plans to achieve what so many other American presidents could not.
Trump has handed son-in-law Jared Kushner and longtime business lawyer Jason Greenblatt the assignment of charting the course toward a peace process. The White House-driven effort is a sharp shift from the practice of U.S. previous administrations that typically gave secretaries of state those reins.
Kushner and Greenblatt were to accompany Trump on his two-day visit, set to begin Monday and include separate meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
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