The American president discussed armaments and oil
The American president Joe Biden arrived this afternoon in Saudi Arabia, where he met with King Salman and with the powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The presidential jet landed in Jeddah, in western Saudi Arabia, from Israel – the first direct flight from that country at a time when Washington is seeking to normalize relations between its two most important partners in the Middle East.
The American president, wearing sunglasses, was not received at the airport by his counterparts but by the ruler of Mecca, Prince Khaled al-Faisal, and Princess Rima Bandar al-Saud, the Saudi ambassador to Washington. A few minutes later, however, he went to the palace where he was greeted with a “fist” (as many leaders are used to due to the pandemic) by the 36-year-old crown prince and with a handshake by King Salman.
After meeting King Salman, Biden will hold talks with Prince Mohammed on a range of issues from oil to arms. US officials said earlier that the US president would also raise the issue of human rights.
Biden’s meeting with the crown prince is the highlight of this tour of Middle East, as the US tries to convince Saudi Arabia to turn on the oil production taps. The goal is to reduce the price of gasoline as the midterm elections in the US approach in November.
When he was still a candidate for the presidency, Biden had declared that he would make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” of the world, mainly because of the murder, in 2018, of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the country’s consulate in Istanbul. When he was elected, he declassified an intelligence report on the crown prince’s responsibilities in the case.
Shortly before Biden’s arrival in Jeddah, two announcements were made: Israel said it had “no objection” to handing over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabiawhich in turn opened its airspace to “all air carriers,” including Israeli ones — a decision the US president called “historic.”
These two actions could, according to analysts, pave the way for a possible rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Israel. After all, Israel normalized its relations, in 2020, with two of Riyadh’s allies: the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
“It’s a first step,” Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said, thanking Saudi Arabia for its decision.
Tomorrow Saturday, Biden will participate in a meeting of the leaders of his Arab monarchies Gulf.
RES-EMP
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