New York, Tel Aviv It is rather unusual for a US President to justify his trip abroad in a newspaper commentary. And it shows how controversial and geopolitically important Joe Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia this Friday is. Over the weekend, Biden wrote an opinion piece in the Washington Post newspaper, explaining his motives under the headline “Why I’m going to Saudi Arabia”.
During the election campaign two years ago, Biden announced that he would declare the Saudi royal family an “international pariah”, i.e. ostracized persons, in view of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi embassy in Istanbul in 2018.
His now planned meeting with the Saudi King Salman ibn Abd al-Aziz and his de facto reigning son, the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in the port city of Jeddah stands in contrast to this. But Biden’s announcements predate Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.
“I know there are many who don’t approve of my decision to fly to Saudi Arabia,” Biden wrote in the Washington Post. But as President, it’s his job to make sure his country stays strong and safe. “We must confront Russia’s aggression, put ourselves in the best position to win in the competition with China, and work for greater stability in a key region of the world,” Biden argued.
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A safer and more integrated Middle East would help Americans in many ways. “Its waterways are vital to global trade and the supply chains we depend on. Its energy resources are vital to cushioning the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine on global supply.
Human rights activists criticize the trip
And the President promises that human rights and freedom will also be on the agenda on this trip – not only in Saudi Arabia, but also in Israel and in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which he visits first on his three-day trip.
In June, 13 human rights organizations wrote to the US President. In it, they called on Biden to demand the release of political prisoners and more rights for women and human rights activists before meeting the crown prince.
Noura Erakat, an American-Palestinian human rights lawyer, told Time magazine that Biden was continuing his predecessor’s policies. Like all American rulers, he “further advances the imperialist interests of the United States, which consist in American supremacy”.
Murdered Khashoggi’s fiancé, Hatice Cengiz, wrote in a Washington Post op-ed piece slamming Biden: “At a time when attacks on press freedom are at an all-time high, your visit will tarnish your reputation and to autocrats around the world.” Send the message to the world that they can imprison, torture and even murder journalists with no repercussions,” she writes.
The fiancée of the murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi sharply criticized the trip.
(Photo: Reuters)
The renowned think tank Council on Foreign Relations, on the other hand, supports Biden’s argument for his trip with its current report. In the Special Report, the authors argue that both countries are interested in good relations.
“Russia’s war in Ukraine, combined with inflation at home, has led to a spike in energy prices,” writes think tank president Richard Haass. This has fueled interest in Saudi Arabia as one of the top oil producers and the only one with significant capacity to rapidly ramp up production. At the same time, Iran is preparing the groundwork for a nuclear weapons program, alarming both Washington and Riyadh.
>>Read here: Not just for the sake of oil: Saudi Arabia is once again becoming a partner for the USA
The authors of the study propose a reconciliation between countries that focuses on Iran’s regional ambitions. The US should promise stronger protection for Saudi Arabia. The Saudis should act more as mediators for the oil price, for de-escalation in Yemen and for further diplomatic normalization with Israel.
“Even if a new agreement means that both sides have to swallow their pride, it would be a realistic recognition of each country’s strategic interests,” writes the Council on Foreign Relations.
Vladimir Putin has close ties to Iran
Saudi Arabia is Iran’s traditional nemesis in the Middle East. Shortly before the start of Biden’s Middle East trip, the White House published an assessment that Russia was trying to get hundreds of drones from Iran for its war of aggression against Ukraine. There are indications that Tehran wants to teach Russian soldiers how to operate the drones this month.
It was also announced on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to travel to Iran for political talks in the coming week.
And that’s not the only reason why Iran is seen as the major trouble spot in the Middle East region from the US perspective: Shortly before, a spokesman for the Iranian Atomic Energy Agency had announced that uranium had been extracted for the first time from high-performance centrifuges in the underground Fordo nuclear plant, and that he was able to measure its degree of purity stated 20 percent.
The Russian President wants to travel to his Iranian counterpart next week.
(Photo: AP)
Iran’s uranium enrichment capabilities were limited under the 2015 nuclear deal. Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, terminated the agreement with Tehran in 2018, and Iran gradually failed to meet its obligations. Renegotiations are currently underway, but a solution seems a long way off.
>>Read here: Does the Opec plus disintegrate? Oil exporters are apparently considering Russia’s exclusion
During his trip, Biden will attend a Gulf Cooperation Council summit scheduled for Saudi Arabia, which will also be attended by the leaders of Egypt, Iraq and Jordan. Like Israel, the Gulf States perceive Tehran’s nuclear armament as a threat, which brings them closer together.
In Jerusalem, where Biden is expected on Wednesday, it is hoped the guest from Washington will push for an ad hoc defense alliance between Israel and the Gulf states that would be aimed at Iran. Israeli USA expert Alon Pinkas believes that only if Biden’s trip is really about Russia and Iran does it make sense in terms of foreign policy. Otherwise, it could prove to be a “complete waste of time.”
Biden’s relationship with the royal family is changeable
Biden did not keep his election promise to make the Saudi royal family a leper. But at least at the beginning of his term in office, the democratic president distanced himself more than his predecessor Trump: after his inauguration, Biden allowed a month to elapse before he spoke to the Saudi king on the phone. Biden explicitly asked that the crown prince am Salman not on the line.
The Saudi royal family has been criticized for the country’s involvement in the Yemen war, among other things.
(Photo: AP)
Biden has also released investigative reports that the Crown Prince was behind Khashoggi’s murder. There were also visa bans for more than 70 people believed to be connected to the murder.
>>Read here: New power structure in the Arab world: Turkey and Saudi Arabia are getting closer again
However, the US government has not directly imposed sanctions on the crown prince. The Saudi ambassador and other high-ranking officials have also been received at the White House. At the beginning of 2021, after protests, Biden had frozen the export of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia because of the Yemen war, but then resumed exports to a limited extent.
When the White House announced the current trip a few weeks ago, the crown prince was initially not mentioned. Then the administration confirmed that Biden would also meet bin Salman. When asked, spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said: “Human rights are something that the President is addressing with many leaders, and he is planning to do so this time too.” But she also made it clear: “We do not want to break up our relationships.”
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