President Barack Obama spoke with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia Wednesday to discuss events in Egypt. The Saudi King reportedly said that in the case that the United States withdraws its financial support of Cairo, that his kingdom would prop up Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's regime, The Times reported.
According to the report, the Saudi king told Obama not to push Mubarak too hard, so as not to humiliate him amid the ongoing protests demanding his ouster.
The White House has called on the Egyptian government to end the harassment of activists, to broaden the makeup of their negotiations with opposition leaders, to lift a repressive emergency law, and to take up a series of other moves the Obama government has requested for days.
Obama reinforced that message in his telephone conversation with King Abdullah, in which the president emphasized the need for "immediate steps toward an orderly transition that is meaningful, lasting, legitimate and responsive," the White House said.
White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs suggested that some Egyptian leaders thought they could wait out the protesters by offering up some concessions and assuming "life will return to normal" after years of repression. He added that the Egyptian protesters demanding change "are not likely to dissipate until the government takes some genuine steps."
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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