Biden invites the President of the United Arab Emirates to the United States
After a period marked by disagreements between the two partners, the American president invited the new head of state Mohammed bin Zayed to visit the United States.
Relations have recently been strained, against a backdrop of war in Ukraine, the oil crisis and fears of an American disengagement from the Middle East.
KEYSTONE
“The challenges we face today make it even more important that we spend time together,” Joe Biden said during a bilateral meeting with Mohammed bin Zayed in Jeddah, western Israel. Saudi Arabia, where he concludes his first tour in the Middle East.
Solemn invitation
“I want to solemnly invite you to the United States,” declared the American president, specifying that he wished to receive his counterpart in Washington in the Oval Office “before the end of this year”.
Relations between Washington and Abu Dhabi have been cold in recent months, the Americans being accused by some observers of losing interest in the Middle East in favor of Asia.
But before several Arab leaders gathered on Saturday in Saudi Arabia, Joe Biden promised that the United States “will not turn away” from the Middle East by leaving “a vacuum that could be filled by China, Russia or Iran”.
The US administration is on its side scalded by the refusal of the Gulf countries to increase oil production to calm the surge in prices on world markets due to the war in Ukraine waged since February by Russia.
Then chairing the UN Security Council, the United Arab Emirates initially refused to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
A “tested” relationship
Moreover, the United Arab Emirates, like Saudi Arabia, have long hoped for more support from the United States in their war against the Houthis in Yemen, these rebels being supported by Iran. A truce is currently in effect.
At the beginning of March, the ambassador of the Emirates to the United States, Youssef Al Otaïba, had estimated that the relationship between Washington and Abu Dhabi was “tested” while insisting on the desire to revive it in the long term.
Posted today at 2:45 p.m.
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