The president of the United States, Joe Biden, will begin his tour of the Middle East on Wednesday, with several challenges ahead, in a context of oil price crisis and, above all, marked by the frustrated efforts to rescue the nuclear agreement with Iran.
The voice of america explains what it consists of and what is the relevance of the US president’s visit to this region, in his first trip there since taking office in January 2021.
What does the visit include?
The four-day trip in mid-July will begin in Israel, where Biden will meet with Israeli leaders. He will also hold talks in the West Bank with the Palestinian Authority to convey his support for a two-state solution between the warring parties.
From Israel you will head to Jeddah, the Saudi city seen as a gateway to two of Islam’s holiest sites, Mecca and Medina. Israel and Saudi Arabia have no diplomatic ties and this will be the first direct flight by a US president from Israel to an Arab state that does not recognize the Jewish country, following former President Donald Trump’s historic flight from Riyadh to Tel Aviv in 2017.
In Jeddah, he will meet the leaders of that oil-rich kingdom, including the crown prince, who is seen as the key driver of policy and the de facto leader of one of the last absolute monarchies and one of the most important countries in the world. .
“The president will see more than a dozen leaders on this trip, including King Salman and the leadership of our Saudi hosts for the Summit. [del Consejo de Cooperación del Golfo más Egipto, Irak y Jordania]”, informed the press secretary of the White House, Karine Jean-Pierre. “Yes, we can hope that the president will also see the crown prince.”
What is Biden’s vision?
Joe Biden took office with the intention of reforming US foreign policy in the Middle East, prioritizing the promotion of democracy and human rights. But in reality, he has struggled on several fronts to significantly differentiate his strategy from that of former President Donald Trump.
Biden’s visit to the region this week includes a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of the oil kingdom that —according to US intelligence— endorsed the 2018 murder of American journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.
As a candidate, Biden had pledged to recalibrate the US relationship with Saudi Arabia, which he described as a “pariah” nation, in contrast to the more accommodating attitude of Trump, who ignored the kingdom’s human rights record. and increased military sales to Riyadh.
But now Biden seems to be thinking that there is more to be gained by courting the country than by isolating it.
On Israel, the first stop on his Middle East tour, again his stance has softened since the strong statements he made when running for president.
As a candidate, Biden condemned the Trump administration’s policy on Israeli settlements in the West Bank. As president, he has been unable to pressure the Israelis to stop building settlements and has offered no new initiative to resume long-stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
Biden has also respected Trump’s 2019 decision recognizing Israel’s sovereignty. over the Golan Heightswhich reversed more than half a century of American politics.
Is it sought to counteract the influence of Iran?
The threat from Iran is one of the main incentives for Israel and Arab countries to work more closely, and the issue is likely to be one of the main topics of Biden’s meetings.
A key issue is finding the best way to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, something it is believed to be closer than ever to achieving. Biden wants to renew the nuclear agreement that President Barack Obama reached in 2015 and that Trump abandoned in 2018, but negotiations appear to have stalled.
On the other hand, there has been quite a bit of regional diplomatic activity between the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Egypt prior to Biden’s visit.
Jordan’s King Abdullah said he considers his country a NATO “partner” because it has worked closely with the alliance and its troops have fought “side by side” with NATO forces in the past.
Analyst Amer Al Sabaileh of the Stimson Center in Washington told the voice of america that Saudi Arabia wants to see content to Iran.
“The Saudis do not want to see a nuclear deal with Iran again without their presence being taken into account,” Al Sabaileh explained, adding that Riyadh has long been concerned about “Iran’s aggressive and hostile policies in the region and the Tehran’s ballistic capability.
Kim Ghattas, of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said at an event that there are many tensions with Iran and wonders if a nuclear deal is possible.
“There is a lot of regional coordination between the US and Israel, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Egypt and Jordan to try to contain a rise in tensions with Iran,” Ghattas said.
According to her, “Iran is cornered. He receives no money (for) sanctions and has seen US allies in the region and former enemies (such as Saudi Arabia and the Emirates) get closer in public or in private. We are seeing a kind of regional movement that allows (the cornering of Iran, even if there is no nuclear agreement).
Another analyst, Aaron David Miller of the Carnegie Endowment for International, noted that while “oil is clearly a strategic geopolitical catalyst” for Biden’s trip, he doesn’t see a big change in crude production any time soon.
What will be the impact of your visit?
The Biden meetings could have some impact, said Brian Katulis, vice president for politics at the Middle East Institute.
“I think the main thing is to see how President Biden and his team try to stabilize the relationship between the United States and Israel, as well as Saudi Arabia, and then expand their diplomatic reach with other key Arab countries,” he told the press. voice of america.
Washington has engaged in quiet diplomacy to expand Abraham Accordsthe treaty promoted by the Trump Administration for Arab states to normalize relations with Israel.
“I think that road is probably quite long. And I would be surprised if we see any breakthrough on that front,” added Katulis.
The Biden administration “has had this pretty confusing policy of continuity on a lot of Trump issues, the path of least resistance on a lot of different issues, including Jerusalem, the Golan, Western Sahara, and most other issues,” Natan noted. Sachs, director of the Middle East Policy Center at the Brookings Institution. AP.
“Biden comes in, in essence, making a choice,” Sachs said. “And the choice is to embrace the emerging regional architecture.”
* With information from AP and VOA correspondents Dale Gavlak, Anita Powell and Patsy Widakuswara.
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