US President Joe Biden left Saudi Arabia, Saturday, with some gains, including repairing relations with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, amid doubts “about whether the visit is worth it.”
Biden’s four-day tour of Israel and Saudi Arabia aimed to restore relations with the “Gulf Arab oil giant”, demonstrate the United States’ commitment to the region and counter the growing influence of Iran, Russia and China.
During his tour, the US president sought to avoid appearing as if he was “embracing” the crown prince, whose involvement in the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in his country’s consulate in Istanbul in 2018, a US intelligence report confirmed, an accusation denied by the Saudi authorities.
Biden said he had spoken with the Saudi crown prince about the crime, but Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Biden that the United States had made mistakes, too.
Biden left the Middle East without obtaining a Saudi pledge to increase oil production or support Washington’s efforts to form a regional security alliance that includes Israel.
After a split in the US administration over the visit to Saudi Arabia, Washington decided to maintain strategic relations with the Kingdom, with the aim of achieving US interests and helping the two sides turn the page on what happened previously.
Riyadh took several preparatory steps before the visit, including supporting the continuation of the truce in Yemen, and helping to accelerate increases in oil production quantities, which were agreed upon by the “OPEC Plus” coalition.
“The summit of the nine Arab leaders is a clear achievement, in addition to supporting the armistice in Yemen,” said Bruce Riedel, of the Brookings Institution, which were achievements that were achieved at the expense of Biden’s meeting with the crown prince.
Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia came in the hope of persuading Riyadh to “increase oil production”, but “the kingdom adhered to its strategy of the need to work within the framework of the OPEC Plus alliance, which includes Russia, and not to act unilaterally.”
The rise in fuel prices in the United States increased inflation, which led to a decline in opinion poll numbers supporting Biden, while Congress heads to a crucial election in November.
White House officials believe that these diplomatic efforts “will help shape the talks when OPEC+ members hold their next meeting.”
Ben Cahill, an energy expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said, “All eyes are on the OPEC+ meeting on August 3. If Saudi Arabia and the UAE want to increase production, they will do so through the meeting.”
He added, “We have to bear in mind the decline in demand for oil. I am not sure that these countries are convinced that the market needs more supply of crude oil.”
Israel and Saudi Arabia
Biden’s tour saw a slight improvement in relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, after Riyadh announced the opening of its airspace to all air carriers, including Israeli planes.
There was also a deal related to the island of Tiran, which Cairo ceded in 2017 to Riyadh, where the United States will withdraw an international peacekeeping unit from it.
The United States and Israel hope that these moves will help build momentum “toward the further integration of Israel into the region,” including Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi foreign minister stressed that these moves “are not a prelude to other steps,” noting that Riyadh is not a party to any talks regarding a Gulf-Israeli defense alliance to confront Iran.
On Thursday, the United States and Israel signed a declaration emphasizing efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, while efforts are underway to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.
Saudi Arabia and Israel were not happy with the 2015 nuclear deal, which was signed by the administration of former US President Barack Obama and abandoned by former US President Donald Trump.
Biden said in his recent statements that “the United States is prepared to use force as a last resort” if talks fail and Iran continues its nuclear program.