(Washington) Joe Biden has decided to postpone a possible trip to Israel and especially Saudi Arabia to July instead of the end of June, an already controversial prospect, the NBC and CNN channels announced on Saturday.
Posted at 4:49 p.m.
The American president initially planned to go to these two countries during the trip which will take him to Spain and Germany at the end of June for diplomatic meetings, they indicate, citing senior American officials.
The White House declined to comment to AFP.
The trip could see Joe Biden participate in a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a diplomatic forum bringing together several countries in the region, according to these two American media.
This trip, even before being officially organized, is already causing controversy.
Joe Biden had confirmed on Friday that he was planning to visit Saudi Arabia, which he had nevertheless promised to treat as a “pariah”, but judging it premature to discuss a meeting with the crown prince.
the New York Times and the washington post wrote that he intended to meet Mohammed bin Salman, whom the American president has so far ostensibly avoided, considering that his interlocutor should be King Salman.
American intelligence assured, in a report made public by Joe Biden shortly after taking office, that the prince had “validated” the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The American leader, who prides himself on leading the great fight of democracies against authoritarian regimes, had therefore decided to “recalibrate” relations with the kingdom, placing greater emphasis on human rights.
But a new factor has been added to the diplomatic equation: soaring gasoline prices, which are exasperating American public opinion.
Joe Biden’s team is trying to convince Riyadh to increase its oil production in the hope that it will lower prices at the pump.