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CNN Live At Daybreak

Stakes Are High For Meeting Between President Bush and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah

Aired April 25, 2002 - 07:01   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Up front this morning, the stakes are high for a meeting between President Bush and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah at the president's ranch in just a few hours. The prince arrived in Texas yesterday to get ready for a meeting that both sides say is crucial to getting Middle East talks back on track. Another reason the meeting is so important, U.S.-Arab relations are on the.

And for more on that upcoming meeting, we go to CNN's Kelly Wallace, who is standing by at the White House this morning -- good morning, Kelly.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Paula. Well, Paula, this meeting, the original goal was really to put some momentum behind Crown Prince Abdullah's proposal in which Arab nations would recognize Israel, if Israel would withdraw to the borders which existed before 1967. But now, U.S. officials say they are bracing for some tough talk from the Saudis. The Saudis expected to tell Mr. Bush that he needs to put more pressure on Israel to withdraw its troops from West Bank towns.

In the words of one U.S. official -- quote -- "We are going to get hammered on Israel."

U.S. officials expecting the crown prince to call on President Bush to urge Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to end the military offensive, including the offensive which continues outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

There is frustration, according to the Saudis, that this administration had not done enough, and that the Israelis are not listening to Mr. Bush. The message will be, you can't have any political talks until this offensive comes to an end. Well, Mr. Bush will have a message of his own for the Saudi crown prince.

There is some concern that the Saudis could do more to crack down on terror. President Bush will call on the crown prince to put more pressure on Yasser Arafat to crack down on terror and also to stop the state incitement of terror.

Paula, as you know, 15 of the 19 hijackers involved in the September 11 attacks were Saudis. So concern that the Saudis could do more again to stop terrorism, to crack down again in Saudi Arabia and also in the Middle East and also again to put pressure on Yasser Arafat.

This will be, Paula, the first face-to-face meeting between President Bush and the crown prince. The crown prince going to the president's ranch. That honor has only really been bestowed on two other leaders, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

So an important meeting, the stakes are high. Clearly tough talk expected from both sides -- Paula.

ZAHN: And when you talk about the stakes being so high and the expectation of the U.S. government that it's going to get hammered by the Saudis, there is talk this morning that among Saudi royal family members, the prospect of using the so-called oil weapon. What exactly could they threaten?

WALLACE: Well, obviously very, very important, crucial oil coming from Saudi Arabia, coming to the United States. Certainly the U.S. relying on that. Also, Paula, of course, U.S. troops based in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has been important, of course, during the Persian Gulf War. It is viewed as an important ally if this administration decides to pursue Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein. It's important in the Middle East when it comes to relations between the Israelis and the Palestinians, very high as well.

So clearly, there are some weapons the Saudi Arabians could use against the United States. That makes the stakes very high, and clearly, that will be an important goal of this meeting, trying to heal relations if they are damaged in any way and trying to get the Saudi's support, again, to try and ease tensions between the Israelis and the Palestinians -- Paula.

ZAHN: All right. Thanks, Kelly -- keep us posted, will you?

WALLACE: Sure.

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