WASHINGTON, DC —
US President Joe Biden will
make history next month with a direct flight between Israel and Saudi Arabia
where he will meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
اضافة اعلان
The
White House ended weeks of speculation Tuesday,
announcing that Biden will travel to Israel, the
Palestinian West Bank and
Saudi Arabia from July 13–16.
This will be Biden’s first trip to the
Middle East as president and in addition to meetings with individual leaders in all three
places, he will attend a regional GCC summit in Saudi Arabia.
There is
widespread expectation that Biden hopes to secure a boost in Saudi oil production, in an attempt to tame
spiraling fuel costs and inflation at home ahead of midterm congressional
elections in which his Democratic party risks a drubbing.
Whatever the
outcome, his meeting with the crown prince, often referred to as MBS, will mark
a controversial policy shift.
While the White
House confirmed that “energy security” will be a topic in Saudi Arabia,
officials stressed that the whole trip has broader diplomatic aims.
Press Secretary
Karine Jean-Pierre emphasized that “this visit to the Middle East region
culminates months of diplomacy,” as opposed to being driven by recent domestic
political concerns.
Biden will engage
with nearly a dozen leaders during the brief yet intense journey, demonstrating
“the return of American leadership,” a senior US official told reporters.
Re-establishing Palestinian links
The tour starts with meeting Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in Israel, a country
Biden first visited nearly 50 years ago as a young senator.
There will be
emphasis on the lavish US support for Israel’s armed forces, including the Iron
Dome anti-missile defense system, at a time of tension over the ongoing failure
to resurrect an international pact curtailing Iran’s nuclear development.
“While in Israel,
the president will likely visit an area where these defensive systems are
utilized, as well as discuss new innovations between our countries that use
laser technologies to defeat missiles and other airborne threats,” the official
said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“The president will
reaffirm the ironclad commitment to Israel’s security.”
Biden will meet
Palestinian president
Mahmoud Abbas, likely in Bethlehem, the US official said.
Biden will stress
“his lifelong commitment to a two state solution” for Palestinians and Israelis
and restore US ties with Palestinians that were “nearly severed” under his
predecessor Donald Trump.
History and controversy
The part of the trip that will make history — and generate the most
chatter — comes at the end.
Biden’s flight
from Israel to Jeddah will be the first by a US president from Israel to an
Arab state that does not recognize the country. In 2017, Trump made the journey
in reverse.
Once there, Biden
will attend the
GCC with leaders from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi
Arabia, and the UAE, as well as being joined by the leaders of Egypt, Iraq, and
Jordan, the US official said.
A priority for
Biden will be maintaining the recently extended truce in Yemen, as well as
deterring Iran, “advancing human rights, and ensuring global energy and food
security,” the official said.
Biden will also
join a virtual summit of the so-called I2-U2 diplomatic group of India, Israel,
the UAE and the US, with focus on “the food security crisis” sparked by
Russia’s invasion of major agricultural exporter Ukraine.
However, the most
closely watched meeting will be between Biden and MBS.
“We can expect the
president to see the crown prince,” the US official said, while rejecting the
notion that Biden was retreating from his principles.
The official
pointed out that Saudi Arabia has been a strategic US partner for eight decades
and is home to some 70,000 Americans.
The visit,
according to the official, is “the smart thing to do at the right time and
offers opportunity for significant gains for the US, for Saudi Arabia, for the
Middle East region.”
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