NEW DELHI (AP) – President Barack Obama has cancelled the end of his trip to India to fly to Saudi Arabia next week in the wake of the death of its later ruler, a top Indian official said Saturday.
Obama will fly from India on Tuesday, skipping a planned trip that day to the Taj Mahal, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The president arrives in New Delhi on Sunday for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and to be the chief guest in India’s Republic Day parade Monday. He had been originally scheduled to leave India and return to Washington after visiting the Taj Mahal.
Saudi King Abdullah died Friday after nearly two decades in power and was succeeded by his half-brother, Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud.