U.S. President Joe Biden moments before boarding Air Force One in Fussa, Japan, May 24, 2022. EVAN VUCCI/AP
Speculation of such a trip in June was rife, but according to the New York Times it has now been confirmed: United States President Joe Biden “has decided to go to Riyadh this month to restore ties with the oil kingdom she is trying to do.” to lower gasoline prices domestically and isolate Russia internationally.
Joe Biden will travel to Saudi Arabia by the end of June, where he will meet Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Al Saud (“MBS”), breaking his promise to treat the kingdom as a “pariah” and not to approach the controversial leader. The US media reported on Thursday (June 2). He will meet with other leaders of Arab countries including Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, the daily added. The visit would come on top of a trip already planned for late June to Israel, Germany for the G7 summit and Spain for the NATO summit.
The Washington Post also reported on the trip, citing anonymous officials, and stressed that the “tete-a-tete” with the mighty prince would come after several “discreet” missions to the wealthy Gulf state of his Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk and his energy affairs envoy, Amos Hochstein, tirelessly arguing for an increase in crude oil production to bring down inflation.
A mandate beginning in the context of the conflict with Riyadh
“The President looks forward to the opportunity to engage with leaders in the Middle East, but I have nothing to announce today,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday. But if Joe Biden “determines that it is in the interests of the United States to work with a foreign leader and that such engagement can produce results, then he will do so,” said Agence France-Presses, a senior Biden official. government under conditions of anonymity. Without confirming the trip, this official considered that “there were undoubtedly important interests [des Etats-Unis] with which Saudi Arabia is connected”.
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Before his election, Joe Biden had ruled that Saudi Arabia should be treated as a “pariah” state over the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Once in power, the Democrat released the US intelligence report in February 2021, accusing “MBS” of “validating” the murder. Washington then spoke of a “recalibration” of the relationship with this strategic Gulf partner to accommodate the imminent proximity of Donald Trump’s presidency without going to a rupture. Joe Biden’s entourage said the president would only speak to King Salman and not the prince, the country’s de facto leader and his Republican predecessor’s privileged interlocutor.
Human rights and Saudi oil
The United States has also announced its intention to put human rights back at the center of its dialogue with the Saudi leadership and stepped up efforts to end the war in Yemen, where Riyadh is providing the government with military support against the Houthi rebels. The decision to move to Saudi Arabia, if confirmed, also comes at a time when the international community has clinched the two-month renewal of a fragile ceasefire in Yemen. Joe Biden on Thursday hailed the “courageous leadership” of Saudi leaders in this regard.
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It also comes as OPEC+, a Riyadh-led cartel of oil-exporting countries, decided on Thursday to boost its production after months of waiting despite rising prices, responding to demands from westerners. On Thursday, the US official downplayed the human rights issue on condition of anonymity, saying the Biden administration is concerned about the issue in Saudi Arabia “as is the case with many countries with which we have common interests.” “There are also strategic priorities that need to be addressed, and our contacts and diplomatic work have intensified recently,” he added.
But the confrontation with “MBS” risks making the US Congress wince, even in the President’s Democratic ranks, where the crown prince’s sultry personality has been much criticized. In a rare interview with foreign media published by The Atlantic magazine in March, Mohammed Bin Salman Al Saud hinted that worsening relations with Saudi Arabia could harm Joe Biden. “It’s up to him to think about America’s interests,” he said. When asked if the 79-year-old American president misunderstood his personality, the young Saudi leader said: “I just don’t care. »