Secretary of State John Kerry was on Monday to meet Saudi King Abdullah in a high-profile bid to mend US ties with its key Gulf ally amid tensions over American policy on Syria and Iran.
His talks, scheduled for later in Riyadh, come a day after the top US diplomat vowed the United States would stand by its friends as they navigate the turmoil unleashed by the Arab Spring.
The political upheaval sweeping parts of the Middle East has witnessed the rise of powerful new extremist groups in libya and Syria, with Iran accused of fomenting unrest to aid Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his 31-month battle against rebel forces.
Arab, locked in a decades-long rivalry with Iran, is concerned that proposed Syrian peace talks could leave a Tehran-backed regime in Damascus and that a breakthrough in nuclear negotiations could also lead to a US rapprochement with its arch foe.