Jeddah: US President Joe Biden told Arab leaders on Saturday that Washington Will be fully engaged in the Middle East and will not leave its influence to other world powers.
“We will not go far and leave the blanks to be filled by China, Russia or Iran,” Biden said during a summit in Jeddah. the Red Sea Coast of Saudi Arabia.
The summit, the final stop on Biden’s Middle East tour, brings together six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council as well as Egypt, Jordan and Iraq.
Biden wanted to use it to discuss volatile oil prices and outline his approach to Washington’s role in the region.
On Friday he met Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin SalmanThe de facto ruler, which assesses US intelligence agencies, “approved” the 2018 operation that killed the journalist Jamal Khashoggi,
After the encounter with Prince Mohammed, Biden said he took up the Khashoggi case and warned against future attacks on dissidents.
Prince Mohammed presided over the inaugural session of Saturday’s summit, which was not attended by King Salman.
He has denied any role in the death of Khashoggi, who was dismembered at the state’s Istanbul consulate and whose remains have never been found.
In his remarks on Saturday, Biden told assembled Arab leaders that “the future will be won by countries that unleash the full potential of their populations … where citizens can question and criticize leaders without fear of retaliation”. .
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has exposed a once unimaginable rift between Washington and key Middle East allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, oil giants that are increasingly independent on the international stage.
The wealthy Gulf nation, which hosts US forces and has been backing Washington for decades, has particularly refrained from backing the Biden administration as it tries to stifle Moscow’s lifeline from energy to diplomacy.
Analysts say the new situation marks a turning point in Gulf ties with the US, which has long been the region’s defender against neighboring Iran.
AUE/RCB/DV
Crown Holdings
“We will not go far and leave the blanks to be filled by China, Russia or Iran,” Biden said during a summit in Jeddah. the Red Sea Coast of Saudi Arabia.
The summit, the final stop on Biden’s Middle East tour, brings together six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council as well as Egypt, Jordan and Iraq.
Biden wanted to use it to discuss volatile oil prices and outline his approach to Washington’s role in the region.
On Friday he met Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin SalmanThe de facto ruler, which assesses US intelligence agencies, “approved” the 2018 operation that killed the journalist Jamal Khashoggi,
After the encounter with Prince Mohammed, Biden said he took up the Khashoggi case and warned against future attacks on dissidents.
Prince Mohammed presided over the inaugural session of Saturday’s summit, which was not attended by King Salman.
He has denied any role in the death of Khashoggi, who was dismembered at the state’s Istanbul consulate and whose remains have never been found.
In his remarks on Saturday, Biden told assembled Arab leaders that “the future will be won by countries that unleash the full potential of their populations … where citizens can question and criticize leaders without fear of retaliation”. .
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has exposed a once unimaginable rift between Washington and key Middle East allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, oil giants that are increasingly independent on the international stage.
The wealthy Gulf nation, which hosts US forces and has been backing Washington for decades, has particularly refrained from backing the Biden administration as it tries to stifle Moscow’s lifeline from energy to diplomacy.
Analysts say the new situation marks a turning point in Gulf ties with the US, which has long been the region’s defender against neighboring Iran.
AUE/RCB/DV
Crown Holdings