(Washington) US President Joe Biden will make a historic flight in July directly from Israel to Saudi Arabia, where he plans to meet Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, despite accusations against him over the assassination of a Saudi journalist.
Posted at 8:10 a.m.
The White House put an end to several weeks of speculation on Tuesday by announcing a tour of Mr. Biden in Israel, the West Bank and Saudi Arabia from July 13 to 16.
This will be his first trip to the Middle East as President of the United States. In addition to his meetings with Israeli, Palestinian and Saudi leaders, Mr. Biden has planned to participate in a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – a diplomatic forum bringing together several Arab countries in the region – in Saudi Arabia.
Expectations are high that Mr. Biden will seek to get the Saudis to increase their oil production, in order to stop the upward spiral in fuel prices and inflation in his country where the elections will take place. mid-term in November. A vote at risk for his Democratic Party.
Whatever the outcome, his meeting with the Saudi crown prince and de facto ruler of the kingdom nicknamed “MBS” will mark a controversial change in American diplomacy.
During the campaign for the 2020 presidential election, Joe Biden had indeed claimed that the assassination and dismemberment in 2018 of Jamal Khashoggi – a Saudi journalist who had taken refuge in the United States, criticized the Saudi authorities, in particular in his articles for the Washington Post – had made Saudi Arabia a “pariah” country.
Findings from US intelligence agencies leaked by the Biden administration identified the crown prince as the sponsor of the entire operation that took place in Turkey.
“We can expect the president to see Crown Prince” Mohammed bin Salman during his visit to the kingdom, a senior US official told reporters. “US policy required a recalibration of relations” after Khashoggi’s murder “but not a breakup”.
He pointed out that Saudi Arabia has been a strategic partner of the United States for eight decades and that some 80,000 Americans call it home.
According to the White House, “energy security” will be a central theme of the president’s visit to Saudi soil, but US officials have argued that his entire tour includes broader diplomatic objectives.
Climax
Executive spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre insisted that “this visit to the Middle East region is the culmination of several months of diplomacy”, rather than fueled by short-term domestic elements .
Mr. Biden must meet with a dozen leaders during this brief, but intense tour, demonstrating “the return of American leadership”, noted a senior American official to the press.
This trip will open with a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. Mr. Biden first visited Israel nearly fifty years ago when he was a young senator.
They are expected to discuss US support for the Israeli military, particularly its Iron Dome anti-missile air defense system, amid tensions heightened by the failure to revitalize the major power agreement with Tehran on its nuclear program.
“In Israel, the president is likely to visit an area where these defense systems are in use and discuss the latest innovations between our countries using anti-missile laser technologies and other airborne threats,” the senior official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“He will reaffirm Israel’s strong commitment to security,” he added.
Biden is also due to meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, likely in Bethlehem, the source said.
He will reiterate ‘his enduring commitment to a two-state solution’ for Palestinians and Israelis and work to restore ties with Palestinian authorities that were ‘almost severed’ under Donald’s previous administration Trump.
Historic Flight
It is at the end of the tour that the trip should make history – and cause the most ink to flow: the direct flight between Israel and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, will be the first of an American president to an Arab country not recognizing the Jewish state from Israeli soil. Its predecessor had made the trip in the opposite direction in 2017.
In Saudi Arabia, he is due to take part in a GCC summit which brings together the leaders of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Leaders from Egypt, Iraq and Jordan are also expected to attend, according to the US official.
A priority of the American head of state will be to maintain the recent truce in Yemen, to stem Iran’s nuclear ambitions, “to advance human rights and ensure global energy and food security”, specified the responsible.
Also on the program: a virtual summit with the other leaders of the so-called I2-U2 group, namely Israel, India and the United Arab Emirates in addition to the United States.
This summit will be an opportunity for “discussions on the food security crisis and other areas of cooperation between regions for which the Emirates and Israel are important centers of innovation”, he explained.