Pentagon’s top policy official meets Saudi Arabia’s deputy defense minister in Riyadh
Anthony Tata sat down with Prince Khalid bin Salman on Thursday, but details of the discussion remain unclear.
The Pentagon’s acting policy chief, Anthony Tata, met with the Saudi Arabian deputy defense minister, Prince Khalid bin Salman, in Riyadh on Thursday. The two discussed a “shared vision of stability for the region,” said Prince Khalid, who is the younger brother of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Details of the conversation were not immediately clear. A spokesperson for Tata’s office was unable to offer comment by publication time.
The visit came as the outgoing administration of US President Donald Trump pushes last-minute weapons sales to Riyadh before Joe Biden takes office Jan. 20. Biden has promised a tough stance on Saudi Arabia, threatening to halt US arms sales to the kingdom and end US support for its effort in Yemen’s civil war.
Tata, widely seen as a Trump loyalist, was nominated to be the Pentagon’s policy chief last year but was never confirmed by the Senate. He rose to perform that role anyway amid a White House shake-up of Pentagon leadership that saw political allies of the president installed in senior positions in November.
