"If Bashar has the interest of his country, he would step down, but he would also create an ability to reach out and start a new phase of Syrian political life."
- Jordan's King Abdullah
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates talks with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah as Ambassador to the U.S. Adel Al-Jubair (center) translates on Wednesday at the king's Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The largely Sunni Muslim nation is a U.S. ally. (Associated Press)
** FILE ** Saudis wave and cheer to welcome Saudi King Abdullah as his convoy travels through the streets of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011. The king was returning to Riyadh, the Saudi capital, after a three-month absence for back surgery in New York and convalescence in Morocco. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Saudis cruise the streets with car covered with Saudi flags and pictures of the Saudi King Abdullad and Saudi Crown Prince Sultan after the convoy of the King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia passes from the Airport and through the streets of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011. King Abdullah returned Wednesday from a three-month absence for back surgery in New York and convalescence in Morocco. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
** FILE ** Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah performs Eid al-Fitr prayers to mark the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in September 2010. (AP Photo/Saudi Press Agency)
King Abdullah, center, of Saudi Arabia arrives at his palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Friday, Nov. 19, 2010. The Saudi Press Agency said Abdullah entered a hospital on Friday due to complications in the back pain suffered by them and the doctors advised him to rest. (AP Photo/Saudi Press Agency)
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, seen in March 2009, has moved to regain control over fatwas, which were proliferating from many sources before he limited them to an official council. (Associated Press)
Saudi King Abdullah, left, and Syrian President Bashar Assad, right, talk to each other as they step off the plane upon their arrival at Rafik Hariri international airport, in Beirut, Lebanon, on Friday, July 30, 2010. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
**FILE** President Obama and Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah share a light moment when they met on June 29, 2010, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (Associated Press)