ROME:
US President Barack Obama on Friday left Italy for Saudi Arabia -- the
last stop of his six-day tour of Europe and the Middle East.
Obama´s
plane, Air Force One, left Rome´s Fiumicino airport at 0955 GMT, an AFP
photographer travelling with the president said.
The US leader
was expected to spend Friday evening in talks with Saudi King Abdullah
on a royal estate outside the capital Riyadh.
The visit comes
amid strategic differences over Iran and Syria, which are straining a
historic alliance between the United States and Saudi Arabia.
Obama
was expected to fly back to the United States on Saturday. In Rome on
Thursday, Obama met with Pope Francis for the first time and held talks
with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano and Prime Minister Matteo
Renzi.
The Italian news agency ANSA reported that John Elkann,
the chairman of Italian automaker Fiat, attended a dinner on Thursday at
the US ambassador´s residence with Obama. Fiat bought a majority stake
in US car maker Chrysler earlier this year and is planning to list the
newly merged Fiat Chrysler conglomerate on Wall Street in October.
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