President Obama will cut short his trip to India on Tuesday to fly to Saudi Arabia following the death of King Abdullah. Obama was supposed to arrive in New Delhi on Sunday for a three-day visit, and will attend the Republic Day parade at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The White House said earlier that Obama would speak with the new king in the next few days, but has not said that he would meet Salman.
| In which case talking to the king will be quite a trick... |
Obama's early departure from India would cause him to skip a planned jaunt to the Taj Mahal, but is not expected to affect the substance of his second trip to India. He is due to hold summit talks on Sunday, attend the military parade on Monday, and give a speech on Tuesday morning before his early departure. |