In Saudi Arabia, President Trump Calls for Coalition to Stamp Out Extremism

In his address to the Arab-Islamic American Summit in Riyadh Sunday afternoon President Donald Trump said the U.S. seeks a “coalition of nations” in the Middle East with the aim of “stamping out extremism.”

President Trump vows to “strengthen America’s oldest friendships, and to seek new partners in pursuit of peace.”

President Trump promised “that America will not seek to impose our way of life on others, but to outstretch our hands in the spirit of cooperation and trust.”

The president described the fight against terrorism as a battle between good and evil rather than a clash of civilizations.

“This is a battle between barbaric criminals who seek to obliterate human life, and decent people of all religions who seek to protect it,” President Trump said.

“That means honestly confronting the crisis of Islamist extremism and the Islamist terror groups it inspires. And it means standing together against the murder of innocent Muslims, the oppression of women, the persecution of Jews, and the slaughter of Christians.”

King Salman of Saudi Arabia, who spoke before President Trump, said he is committed to stamping out the Islamic State group and other terrorist organizations.

Salman and Trump spoke at a gathering of the leaders of more than 50 majority-Muslim countries attending the Arab-Islamic-American Summit in Riyadh.

He said that “we all, peoples and countries, reject in every language and in every form damaging the relations of Muslim countries with friendly countries and profiling countries based on a religious or sectarian basis.”

King Salman also railed against Iran, calling the country “the spearhead of global terrorism.”