Biden recalls, meeting the Saudi crown prince

Speculation of such a move in June was widespread, but according to New York Timeshe is now confirmed: the President of the United States decided to go to Riyadh this month to rebuild relations with the oil kingdom while aiming to lower domestic oil prices and isolate Russia from the rest of the world.

on the spot, he will meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmannickname MBSand other leaders of Arab countries, including Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, added daily.

He said logistics and timing details had not yet been confirmed, but the visit would come in addition to a trip already planned for the end of June to Israel, Germany for the G7 summit and Spain for the EU summit.NATO.

The Washington Post also reported on the transfer, citing unknown officials, citing the Face to face the mighty prince will intervene after a few missions carefully in the wealthy Gulf country of its adviser for the Middle East, Brett McGurk, and its envoy for energy affairs, Amos Hochstein, who tirelessly pleaded for increased crude production to lower inflation.

The President was looking forward to the opportunity to interact with Middle Eastern leaders, but I have nothing to say todaywas limited to saying Thursday by the spokeswoman for the White House, Karine Jean-Pierre.

But if Joe Biden determined that it was in the interest of the United States to contact a foreign leader and that such interaction could yield results, therefore it issaid toAFP a senior official of the Biden administration on condition of anonymity.

Without confirming the trip, this officer estimated that there was no doubt of vital interest [des États-Unis] is related to Saudi Arabia.

Before his election, Joe Biden decided that Saudi Arabia should be treated as a state pariah for the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Once in power, the Democrat released a U.S. intelligence report in February 2021 accusing MBS of having valid the murder.

Washington then mentioned a recalibration of the relationship with this strategic partner in the Gulf, to turn the page on the nearness of Donald Trump’s presidency without reaching a break. Joe Biden’s entourage explained that the president would only talk to King Salman and not the prince, the de facto head of state and privileged to talk to his predecessor in the Republic.

The United States has also shown its intention to return human rights to the heart of its talks with Saudi leaders, and stepped up efforts to end the war in Yemen, where Riyadh is militarily backing the government against the rebels. Houthi.

The decision to move to Saudi Arabia, if confirmed, also comes at a time when the international community has hijacked the two-month renewal of a fragile ceasefire in Yemen. Joe Biden greeted on Thursday brave leadership Saudi leaders in this matter.

It also interferes when theOPECa cartel of oil-exporting countries, led by Riyadh, decided on Thursday to boost its production after months of waiting despite rising prices, thus responding to calls from Westerners.

Strategic priorities

On Thursday, the U.S. official ignored the condition of not being identified on the human rights issue, saying the Biden administration was concerned about the issue in Saudi Arabia as in many countries where we share interests.

There are also strategic priorities that need to be addressed, and our diplomatic contacts and work have intensified recently.He added.

But face-to-face with the MBS threatens to cripple the American Congress, even in the Democratic presidential ranks where the sulfurous personality of the crown prince is highly criticized.

In a rare interview with foreign media published in March by the journal tea AtlanticMohammed bin Salman hinted that the deterioration of relations with Saudi Arabia could hurt Joe Biden. It’s up to him to think about America’s interestshe said.

Asked to say if the 79-year-old American president doesn’t understand his personality, the young Saudi leader dropped: I just don’t care.