The Hindu editorial on Joe Biden’s West Asia visit

In his first visit to the Middle East as president, Joe Biden sought to strengthen America’s traditional partnership and alliance in the region, which includes Israel and Sunni Arab countries. In Israel, he promised that the US would do everything it could to prevent Iran from receiving a nuclear bomb. In his brief visit to the Palestinian West Bank, he was careful not to criticize Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories. He promised assistance, but said the ground situation was unprepared to restart the peace process. in Saudi Arabia, Mr Biden meets with Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince who ordered the 2018 killing of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to the CIA. The visit practically put an end to Washington’s early attempts to punish and isolate Prince Mohammed. Later, at a summit with Arab leaders in Jeddah, he said the US would not move away from West Asia, leaving a void that China, Russia or Iran would try to fill. President Biden may have said that “human rights will be central to our foreign policy”, but in the Middle East, neither Israel’s violent occupation of the Palestinian territories nor the record of rights of Sunni Arab dictators and monarchs has given the US president its authority. prevented from pursuing. Foreign policy objectives of the administration.

Gone are the days when the Israel-Palestine issue dominated the US President’s foreign policy agenda towards the Middle East. Barack Obama focused his energies on the Iran nuclear talks, after his initial peace plan failed. Donald Trump’s proposal ignored the Palestinians and focused on the Abrahamic Agreement, which saw the normalization of relations between Israel and Sunni Arabs. Mr. Biden did not even touch the question of Palestine. They have two clear objectives – regional balance and energy security. As Iran nuclear talks come to a standstill, it seeks to accelerate cooperation between Israel and Sunni Arabs, who are pillars of America’s West Asia policy. Mr Trump introduced this policy through the Abraham Accords, and Mr Biden has wholeheartedly adopted it. Second, as the Biden administration seeks to punish Russia’s Vladimir Putin for his invasion of Ukraine, it needs Saudi Arabia to pump more oil into the international market, hampered by Western oil sanctions on Russia. But it remains an uncertain condition. Saudi Arabia, with its warm ties with Russia, holds additional capacity, but it is unclear whether the increase in Saudi output alone will stabilize the energy market if Russia prolongs the war. More importantly, forming a bloc against Iran will not solve Iran’s problem. This will only worsen security competition in West Asia. A meaningful solution to Mr Biden’s problems lies in ending the war in Ukraine and reviving the Iran nuclear deal, forcing the Islamic Republic and its rivals into a cold peace. The first is not in Mr Biden’s hands and the second does not seem to be his priority.