"I'm not talking about America in general," corrected the Saudi leader.
It was the first visit by a Saudi leader to Moscow in 75 years.
It remains an open question how far any Saudi leader can or will go to address the country's underlying problems.
In so doing, the Saudi leaders ceased to be Muslims, he concluded.
However, they declined to answer directly when asked if he met with any other senior Saudi leader.
Hamas should be given more time, the Saudi leaders said.
He speaks to the Saudi leader and the guy tells him what he wouldn't tell anybody else in a one-on-one session.
The decision by some family members to air the debate seemed in part intended to nudge the Saudi leader forward.
And the Saudi leader always stopped short of presenting his ideas directly to the Israeli people.
Westerners' curiosity about Saudi leaders' way of life is bad form here.