Absolute duty of all countries to rid terrorism from their soil: Donald Trump at US-Islam summit
NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump on Sunday said it was the absolute duty of all countries to rid terrorism from their soil and called for "a coalition of nations" in the Middle East to stamp out this scourge.
In his address to the Arab-Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, Trump told Muslim leaders of the world that his message was one of "friendship, hope and love", while also making it clear that Muslim-majority countries must now take the lead in the battle against radicalization.
"This is not a battle between different religions, different sects or different cultures. This is a battle between barbaric criminals who seek to obliterate human life and decent people, all in the name of religion. This is a battle between good and evil. We can overcome this evil only if the forces of good are united," Trump said.
Adding that the deadliest toll of "fanatical violence" has been on Arab nations, the US president conjectured that the gathering of leaders from Muslim countries at the summit may be the beginning of peace in the Middle East and perhaps all over the world.
Seeking to chart a new course for the role of US in the region, Trump pledged to work alongside Middle Eastern nations to root out terrorism. The shift in his tone - a more moderate one - in his first foreign policy speech was apparent.
"Our friends will never doubt our support and our enemies will never doubt our determination... We will seek gradual reforms, not sudden intervention," Trump said.
He then tore into Iran, accusing the Hassan Rouhani regime of seeding instability in the region by funding arms and training militias that spread destruction and chaos.
Saudi King Salman echoed a similar sentiment in his address, which preceded Trump's impassioned speech. Declaring Iran the "tip of the spear" of global terrorism, the king said Saudi Arabia will show no leniency in dealing with those who finance terrorism.
"Our responsibility before God and our people and the whole world is to stand united to fight the forces of evil and extremism wherever they are ... The Iranian regime represents the tip of the spear of global terrorism," he said.
Trump's address on Sunday was the centerpiece of his two-day visit to Saudi Arabia, his first trip overseas as president. He will next head to Israel for meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
In his address to the Arab-Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, Trump told Muslim leaders of the world that his message was one of "friendship, hope and love", while also making it clear that Muslim-majority countries must now take the lead in the battle against radicalization.
"This is not a battle between different religions, different sects or different cultures. This is a battle between barbaric criminals who seek to obliterate human life and decent people, all in the name of religion. This is a battle between good and evil. We can overcome this evil only if the forces of good are united," Trump said.
Adding that the deadliest toll of "fanatical violence" has been on Arab nations, the US president conjectured that the gathering of leaders from Muslim countries at the summit may be the beginning of peace in the Middle East and perhaps all over the world.
Seeking to chart a new course for the role of US in the region, Trump pledged to work alongside Middle Eastern nations to root out terrorism. The shift in his tone - a more moderate one - in his first foreign policy speech was apparent.
"Our friends will never doubt our support and our enemies will never doubt our determination... We will seek gradual reforms, not sudden intervention," Trump said.
He then tore into Iran, accusing the Hassan Rouhani regime of seeding instability in the region by funding arms and training militias that spread destruction and chaos.
Saudi King Salman echoed a similar sentiment in his address, which preceded Trump's impassioned speech. Declaring Iran the "tip of the spear" of global terrorism, the king said Saudi Arabia will show no leniency in dealing with those who finance terrorism.
"Our responsibility before God and our people and the whole world is to stand united to fight the forces of evil and extremism wherever they are ... The Iranian regime represents the tip of the spear of global terrorism," he said.
Trump's address on Sunday was the centerpiece of his two-day visit to Saudi Arabia, his first trip overseas as president. He will next head to Israel for meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.