- Biden says the US will remain committed to the Allies
- US hoping to integrate Israel
- The Saudi Crown Prince rejects the issue of human rights
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, July 16 (Reuters) – President Joe Biden told Arab leaders on Saturday that the United States would continue to be an active partner in the Middle East, but failed to make commitments to a regional security axis that included Israel or an immediate increase in oil production.
“The United States is invested in building a positive future for the region, in collaboration with all of you, and the United States will not go anywhere,” he said, according to a transcript of his speech.
Biden, who began his first trip to the Middle East as president with a visit to Israel, presented his vision and strategy for U.S. engagement in the Middle East at an Arab summit in Jeddah.
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The summit statement was vague, however, and Saudi Arabia, Washington’s most important Arab ally, poured cold water on U.S. hopes that the summit could help lay the groundwork for a security alliance. regional government, including Israel, to combat Iranian threats.
During a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Biden raised the very sensitive issue of human rights, provoking countercriticism from the Crown Prince, also known as MbS.
“We believe it is of great value to include as many of the capabilities of this region as possible, and certainly Israel has significant air defense and missile capabilities, as needed. But we are maintaining these discussions bilaterally with these nations,” he said. say a high government. an officer told reporters.
A plan to connect air defense systems could be a difficult sale for Arab states that have no ties to Israel and are reluctant to be part of an alliance seen as against Iran, which has a strong regional network of proxies that includes Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, said he was not aware of any discussions on a Gulf-Israel defense alliance and that the kingdom was not involved in those talks.
He told reporters after the U.S.-Arab summit that Riyadh’s decision to open its airspace to all airlines had nothing to do with the establishment of diplomatic ties with Israel and was not a forerunner of new steps. Read more
Biden has focused on the summit with six Gulf states and Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, while downplaying the meeting with MbS that sparked criticism in the United States of human rights concerns.
Biden had said he would make regional power Saudi Arabia a “pariah” on the world stage for the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in 2018, but ultimately decided that U.S. interests dictated a recalibration, not a rupture, in relations with the world’s leading oil company. exporter.
The Crown Prince told Biden that Saudi Arabia had acted to prevent a recurrence of mistakes like Khashoggi’s assassination and that the United States had also made mistakes, including in Iraq, a Saudi minister said.
FIST SHOCK
Biden exchanged a punch with MbS on Friday, but said he told him he was responsible for Khashoggi’s assassination at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on July 16, 2022. REUTERS / Evelyn Hockstein
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“The president raised the issue … And the Crown Prince replied that this was a painful episode for Saudi Arabia and that it was a terrible mistake,” the Saudi foreign minister said , Adel al-Jubeir.
Defendants were brought to trial and sentenced to prison, he said.
U.S. intelligence agencies believe the Crown Prince ordered Khashoggi’s assassination, which he denies.
Jubeir, speaking to Reuters about Friday’s conversation, said MbS had argued that trying to impose values on other countries by force could be counterproductive.
“It didn’t work when the US tried to impose values on Afghanistan and Iraq. In fact, it turned out to be counterproductive,” Jubeir said, citing the Crown Prince in Biden. “Countries have different values and those values must be respected!”
The exchange highlighted the tensions that have weighed on relations between Washington and Riyadh, its closest Arab ally, over issues such as Khashoggi, oil prices and the Yemen war.
Biden needs the help of OPEC giant Saudi Arabia at a time of high crude oil prices and other problems related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Washington also wants to curb Iran’s dominance in the region and China’s global influence.
Biden arrived in Saudi Arabia in hopes of reaching an agreement on oil production to help lower gasoline prices, which are driving inflation above 40-year highs and threatening its rates. of approval.
He leaves the region empty-handed, but expects the OPEC + group, made up of Saudi Arabia, Russia and other producers, to increase production at a meeting on August 3.
“I look forward to seeing what comes next in the coming months,” Biden said.
FOOD SAFETY
A second senior government official said Biden would announce that Washington has committed $ 1 billion in new short- and long-term food security assistance to the Middle East and North Africa, and that the Gulf states would commit $ 3 billion over the next two years on projects that align with U.S. partnerships in global infrastructure and investment.
The Gulf states, which have refused to side with the West against Russia because of Ukraine, are seeking a concrete commitment from the United States to strategic ties that have been strained by perceived U.S. disengagement. of the region.
Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have been frustrated by US conditions on arms sales and by their exclusion from indirect talks between the United States and Iran on the reactivation of a 2015 nuclear pact they consider defective for not addressing concerns about Iran’s missile program and behavior.
Israel had encouraged Biden’s trip to Saudi Arabia, hoping it would lead to warmer ties between him and Riyadh as part of a broader Arab rapprochement.
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Additional report by Maha El Dahan in Jeddah and John Irish in Paris Written by Ghaida Ghantous and Michael Georgy Edited by Timothy Heritage and Helen Popper
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