There is a flurry of Saudi diplomatic travel in its region. The context might be the U.S. arrangement with Russia over Syria and Saudi opposition to it. Consider:

April 7 – Saudi king starts Egypt visit in boost for Sisi

Saudi King Salman on Thursday started a five-day visit to Cairo in a show of support for Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, with the leaders due to sign a raft of investment deals.

April 11 – Saudi King Salman meets Turkey’s Erdogan

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz was welcomed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after arriving in Turkey’s capital Ankara on Monday.

As part of king Salman’s official visit to the country, regional and international issues are expected to be discussed in meetings between Turkish and Saudi officials.

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During his visit, will later be attending the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) that will be taking place in Istanbul on April 14 and 15.

April 12 – The Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and King of Jordan Agree to Establish a Joint Investment Fund

Saudi Arabia and Jordan yesterday agreed to establish a joint investment fund during the Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Jordan. Prince Mohammed who is also the Saudi Second Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence met King Abdullah II and in a joint statement that was made at the end of the visit, the two sides stressed “the importance of strengthening the existing cooperation in the fields of security and fighting terrorism and extremism”. They also stressed the “importance of participating in existing international efforts to fight terrorism made by the international coalition and the military coalition”.

April 12 – Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed receives Saudi Deputy Crown Prince

Abu Dhabi: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, on Monday received Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz, upon his arrival at the Presidential Airport in Abu Dhabi.

The Saudi King visits two heavyweight Middle East countries over the last days while his son visits two minor ones. Something is up here. Will there be a new Saudi organized “initiative” in Syria? What else could be the purpose of such diplomatic bustle?

On a side note:

This is the picture the Turkish President Erdogan arranged when the German chancellor Merkel visited him. Nostalgic Ottoman opulence for the frugal daughter of a Lutheran pastor.

    

Now compare that to the official picture with the pompous, ultra rich Saudi King.

    

Here Erdogan chose a rather sparse environment with a huge portrait of the secular founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Erdogan’s declared political aim is to move away from secular Atatürk Turkey to return to Islamic Ottoman glory. So why does he emphasize Atatürk when the Saudi King visits him?

Back to the Saudi diplomatic caravan. Obama will soon visit Saudi Arabia:

The White House says Obama will head to Saudi Arabia on April 21 for a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Obama last year hosted leaders from the group of Gulf nations. They’ll discuss the fight against Daesh and other Mideast security concerns.

In preparation for Obama’s arrival in Riyadh the U.S. has again pulled out the “28 pages” threat. These still classified parts of the 9/11 investigation describe Saudi interaction with the terrorists. Whenever the White House wants something important from the Saudis it launches a campaign to declassify the 9/11 findings which would turn Saudi Arabia into a public enemy. This comes on top of the recent interview Obama gave to the Atlantic in which he questioned the U.S. alliance with Saudi Arabia. The politicized Fitch rating agency just lowered Saudi credit worthiness. What does Obama want the Saudis to do?

My hunch is that the Saudis are sabotaging, via their proxy terrorist forces in Syria, the new found U.S.-Russian cooperation against al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. Just consider how the U.S. is now practically inviting the Russians and the Syrian army to be more aggressive in Syria. From yesterday’s State Department press briefing:

QUESTION: You’re not opposed to the Syrian army going after and – going after Aleppo and taking the – or at least the parts of it that are held by al-Nusrah. That’s okay with you. But if they start going after groups that you guys think are part of – or say are part of the cessation of hostilities, then it – only then it’s bad. Is that correct?

MR TONER: Yes.

Last week Saudi-sponsored groups in Syria cooperated with Nusra in their attack on the government held Tal al-Eis and thereby broke the ceasefire. The U.S. just gave its okay for Russia and Syria to counter that move with a bigger “anti-Nusra” campaign.

The Saudi visiting flurry to arrange its regional chess pieces before Obama arrives must be seen in that context.