In article for Al Arabiya, AGSIW Senior Resident Scholar Hussein Ibish commented on the differences between the United States and Saudi Arabia on Syria, as U.S. President Barack Obama prepares to visit Riyadh for a summit with Gulf Cooperation Council leaders: “Unfortunately a coordinated, common strategy on Syria is unlikely because the United States and the Gulf states don’t agree on how to deal with the crisis.”

In the same article, AGSIW President Ambassador Marcelle M. Wahba noted the concern of GCC states about the growing crisis in Syria and their support for peace talks in the Geneva: “The external players, including the U.S. and our regional partners, will find it much easier to find a broad consensus once the Syrians have reached at least a framework agreement on a power sharing structure for a future Syria.”