President Biden’s ME visit

 July 24, 2022

Editorial: President Joe Biden's trip to Saudi Arabia and Israel last week was not a failure, but it was not a successful one. The only tangible positive outcome was Saudi Arabia's decision to open its airspace to all airlines, including Israel.

Given Joe Biden's campaign pledge to make the desert kingdom a "pariah," no one expected him to be greeted with hugs and kisses on the forehead upon his arrival, and rightly so. As Prince Mohammed bin Salman punched him. The handshake arrival at the talks in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah was a formality, with Joe Biden repeating the White House's big pledge, "We will not back down and leave the void to be filled by China, Russia or Iran." Will not leave."

The Saudi leadership was not swayed by the hyperbole – because it has its own worldview on the issue and was not expecting US intervention.

The Saudis already knew that President Biden was coming to increase oil production in the kingdom to counter Moscow's policy to fully cover oil shortages faced by other countries.

Being a member of the OPEC Plus alliance, which also includes Russia, Saudi Arabia, did not agree to increase oil production as the US President wanted.

During his stay in Jeddah, the US President met with the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council as well as the leaders of Egypt, Jordan and Iraq (GCC+3) and called on Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel, but the kingdom's leadership rejected his request politically. Analysts say that the Gulf countries have stopped seeing the world through American lenses.

Of course, several agreements were signed by the two countries during President Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia, but none of them reflect America's strategic approach to the Middle East, especially its approach to Iran's nuclear program. Not consistent with the approach.

Reacting to President Biden's warning to "stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons," a spokesman for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Al Jazeera TV that Iran has the technological capability to build a nuclear bomb. But have not decided to make." In a few days we were able to enrich uranium up to 60% and we can easily produce 90% (weapon grade) enriched uranium.

President Biden doesn't own Donald Trump's legacy of pulling out of the international nuclear deal, but he's not ready to promise he won't follow in Trump's footsteps. According to him, the nuclear deal is a non-binding political agreement, not a legally binding agreement.

Such double talk also marked his meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas a day earlier on Friday. The US president conveniently brushed aside Palestinian concerns on self-determination and settlement building in the occupied West Bank, among other issues.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022...