US denies that ties with Saudis, under strain

A report stated that the Gulf nation was seeking to distance itself from Washington

Relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia remain strong, a US official insisted Tuesday, brushing aside a report that its key Gulf ally was seeking to distance itself from Washington amid differences over Syria.

Asked if Riyadh had told Washington that it planned to cut back cooperation, the official replied, "Not to my knowledge has that message been sent to the State Department by the Saudis."

"The fundamental relationship and partnership with the Saudis is a strong one. We value their efforts on a wide range of issues," added State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf.

Her comments came after the Wall Street Journal reported that the Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Bandar Bin Sultan al-Saud, told European diplomats he would scale back cooperation with the US on arming and training Syrian rebels.

It also coincides with Riyadh's rejection of a prized seat as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, in protest at the world body's failure to do more to end the Syrian war.

"This was a message for the US, not the UN," Prince Bandar was quoted by diplomats as saying, according to the Journal.

Prince Bandar also told the diplomats, in a private weekend meeting in Riyadh, that he would roll back Saudi Arabia's work with the CIA to train Syrian rebels, and work with other allies including Jordan and France.

The Saudis had been particularly angered by the US decision not to go ahead with strikes against the chemical weapons arsenal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the Journal said.

And they wanted the US or the UN "to come up with a more effective plan of action for helping rebels overthrow Assad and end the Syrian war," the US business daily added.

The Sunni majority Gulf kingdom has also watched warily as Washington has made moves to improve ties with Shiite Muslim Iran.

"We're working together on some challenging issues, and we share the same goals, whether it's ending the civil war in Syria, getting back to a democratic government in Egypt, preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon," Harf said.