US President Joe Biden on Saturday assured Arab leaders that the US would remain fully engaged in the Middle East, as he wrapped up his first tour of the region since taking office.
“We will not walk away and leave a vacuum to be filled by China, Russia or Iran,” Biden said during a summit in Jeddah, on the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia.
US ties to Gulf powers in particular have been roiled by multiple issues in the past few years, notably Washington’s push for a deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program and its tepid response to attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities in 2019 claimed by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
Photo: AFP / UAE`S MINISTRY OF PRESIDENTIAL AFFAIRS
The summit, the final stop of Biden’s Middle East tour, brought together the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as Egypt, Jordan and Iraq.
Biden had been looking to use the trip to discuss volatile oil prices and outline his vision for Washington’s role in the region.
On Friday, he met Saudi King Salman and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler who US intelligence agencies say “approved” the 2018 operation that killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
After a fist bump with the prince, Biden said he raised the Khashoggi case and warned against future attacks on dissidents.
Bin Salman, who chaired the opening of Saturday’s summit, has denied any role in the death of Khashoggi, who security agencies believe was dismembered in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, and whose remains have never been found.
Biden told the 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 reprisal.”
Air Force One took off from Jeddah at about 5pm on Saturday, bringing Biden’s four-day visit to a close.
Hours later a joint statement was released in which the leaders committed to “preserve regional security and stability,” and deepen their defense and intelligence cooperation.
It also underscored diplomatic efforts to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon and notably called for enhanced joint deterrence capabilities “against the increasing threat” posed by unmanned aerial vehicles — a likely reference to Tehran, which on Friday unveiled ships capable of carrying armed drones.
Biden said Washington would commit US$1 billion in food aid to the Middle East and North Africa amid rising food insecurity induced by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine has exposed a once unthinkable divergence between Washington and key Middle East allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the oil giants that are increasingly independent on the international stage.
The wealthy Gulf nations, which host US forces and have dependably backed Washington for decades, have notably refrained from supporting the Biden administration as it tries to choke Moscow’s lifelines, from energy to diplomacy.
Analysts say the new position reveals a turning point in Gulf relations with the US, long the region’s protector against Iran.
In their joint statement, the leaders “recognized ongoing efforts of OPEC+ toward stabilizing the global oil market,” and welcomed the organization’s statement last week that its members would “increase supply over the course of July and August.”
Saturday brought some conciliatory gestures, with Biden inviting Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to visit the White House before the year ends.
In his summit remarks, Prince Mohammed said he hoped it would “establish a new era of joint cooperation to deepen the strategic partnership between our countries and the United States of America, to serve our common interests and enhance security and development in this vital region for the whole world.”
Riyadh and Washington on Friday signed 18 agreements on areas including energy, space, health and investment, including developing 5G and 6G technology, a Saudi Arabian statement said.
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