Published16 July 2022, 00:36
Saudi ArabiaAfter a “check” with MBS, Joe Biden warns Ryad
The meeting between Joe Biden and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is the high point of the American president’s tour of the Middle East.
Joe Biden was greeted at the royal palace in Jeddah by Mohammed bin Salman, doing a fist “check” with the young de facto leader of the Saudi kingdom.
AFP
US President Joe Biden, visiting Saudi Arabia, warned Riyadh of a “response” in the event of new attacks on dissidents, following a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, considered by Washington to be the sponsor of the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Air Force One landed in Jeddah, western Saudi Arabia, following a direct flight from Israel, a first as Washington seeks to normalize relations between its two most important partners in the Middle East.
Joe Biden was greeted at the royal palace in Jeddah by Mohammed bin Salman, nicknamed MBS, doing a fist “check” with the young and powerful 36-year-old de facto ruler of the Saudi kingdom. In Jeddah, Joe Biden also met King Salman, ill and 86 years old, before a “working session” led by Prince Mohammed, essential on all issues, from oil to the military.
“Pariah”
The meeting between Joe Biden and Mohammed ben Salmane is the high point of this tour in the Middle East, while Washington seeks to convince the kingdom to open the floodgates of its oil production. The challenge: lower the price of a gallon of gasoline as the midterm elections in the United States approach.
But when he was still a candidate, Joe Biden promised to treat Saudi Arabia as a “pariah”, in particular because of the 2018 assassination of Saudi journalist and critic Jamal Khashoggi. Once elected, he had declassified a damning report on the responsibility of the prince in this murder.
In Jeddah, Joe Biden said he warned Saudi Arabia’s crown prince of a “response” from him if further attacks on dissidents were to occur, calling Khashoggi’s killing “scandalous”.
“I just made it clear that if something like this happens once more, they will have this answer and much more,” he told reporters, saying he brought up the matter “at the very beginning” of the meeting with MBS. . The Saudi authorities have always denied direct responsibility for the crown prince in this murder.
“Blood on Your Hands”
The journalist’s widow, Hatice Cengiz, posted a tweet with a screenshot of her late husband’s account: “Is this how you demand as promised accountability for my murder?”
Joe Biden’s visit was particularly criticized by human rights defenders, with the powerful Gulf monarchy accused of serious violations and fierce repression of its opponents. Far from human rights issues, among the objectives of Joe Biden’s tour are attempts to bring Saudis and Israelis closer together.
During his speech in Jeddah, Joe Biden announced that international peacekeeping forces, including American troops, will leave Tiran, one of the two strategic islands, with Sanafir, located in the Red Sea, between Egypt, Israel and Saudi Arabia.
The departure of this force, installed for 40 years, must occur “by the end of the year”, specified the White House in a document, following Israel indicated that it had “no objection” to the transfer of the two islets from Egypt to Saudi Arabia. At the same time, Ryad announced the opening of its airspace to “all carriers”, including Israeli, a “historic” decision for Joe Biden.
Arab-American Summit
These two initiatives might, according to analysts, pave the way for a possible rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Israel, a country which notably normalized its relations in 2020 with two other Gulf countries: the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
The Saudi announcement came ahead of Joe Biden’s unprecedented Tel Aviv/Jeddah (west) direct flight, the first of its kind from Israel to Saudi Arabia that does not officially recognize the Jewish state. His predecessor, Donald Trump, flew in the opposite direction from Saudi Arabia to Israel. On Saturday, Joe Biden will take part in a summit of leaders of the Gulf Arab monarchies that will also be attended by other Arab leaders, who began arriving on Saturday evening.
An opportunity to push the normalization initiated by Israel with several Arab countries, in particular with the aim of facing Iran. However, Ryad conditions the establishment of official ties with the Jewish state to a resolution of the Palestinian question, regularly denouncing the occupation and colonization of the Palestinian territories.
(AFP)
