Saudi Arabia's King Salman will not take part in a U.S.-Arab summit hosted this week by President Barack Obama, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Sunday, canceling also a planned White House meeting that had been announced only days earlier.
The summit begins Wednesday with delegations from the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council visiting the White House, then continues Thursday with talks at the president's Camp David retreat.
Jubeir said King Salman will send Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef in his place. He cited the summit's overlap with a five-day cease-fire and humanitarian effort in neighboring Yemen where Saudi Arabia has led a campaign of airstrikes against anti-government fighters.
An Obama administration official said the change was "not in response to any substantive issue."