Saudi King’s Death Brings Visits by Obama, Cameron, Erdogan

The death of King Abdullah, a close U.S. ally who used Saudi oil wealth to ward off political change after the Arab Spring, prompted world leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama to make condolence visits.

Obama canceled a trip to India’s Taj Mahal to add a visit to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 27. French President Francois Hollande, King Felipe VI of Spain and Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi arrived in Riyadh to offer condolences, the official Saudi Press Agency said. The U.K.’s Prince Charles and Prime Minister David Cameron also travelled to Riyadh to pay respects to the House of Saud, an ally and commercial partner. Amid the paeans, human rights groups highlighted a record of abuses that improved only marginally under the late king, who was succeeded by his half-brother Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, 79.