In a remarkable step, intensifying his efforts to repair and strengthen relations with the Gulf countries, after the Ukrainian crisis highlighted the importance of oil producers, US President Joe Biden sent a delegation that includes all the stars of American politics to the UAE, yesterday, to offer condolences on the death of its president Former Khalifa bin Zayed.
The US delegation, headed by Vice President Kamla Harris, included nearly all of Biden’s national security aides, from the secretaries of state and defense and the head of the CIA to senior White House officials.
Senior US officials saw that the delegation’s formation reflects Washington’s desire to demonstrate its commitment to the region, which has been suspicious of the intentions of White House rulers since the era of former President Barack Obama.
They added that Harris will assure UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed of the United States’ intention to deepen relations with the region in areas ranging from security and climate to energy and trade.
At a time when the UAE stresses that the United States remains a strategic partner, even as Abu Dhabi deepens its relations with China and Russia, a source close to the Emirati thinking style confirmed that the formation and size of the American delegation “represents a significant signal that will be meaningful to Sheikh Mohammed and the Emirati leadership.”
The Emirati source considered that “progress has been made, but more must be done. The UAE wants closer and more clearly defined relations with the United States.”
attraction and anger
Meanwhile, Omar Taspinar, a political expert at the Brookings Institution, described the US move as “a big push with the magic of gravity on the part of the Biden administration to repair relations.”
“There is an attempt to put things back on track, after the UAE’s dissatisfaction with the United States, due to the absence of high-level visits in the wake of the missile attacks launched by the Iranian-backed Yemeni rebel group Ansar Allah, on Abu Dhabi and Dubai last January,” Tashpinar added.
Archyde.com had reported that Biden had angered Mohammed bin Zayed, by not communicating quickly after the attacks, and not responding more forcefully, including by reclassifying the Houthi group as a terrorist organization.
The Gulf states were angered by what they perceived as a decline in the American commitment to their security in the face of Iran’s nuclear and missile program and its network of regional proxies, in light of the insistence of the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden to continue its diplomatic efforts to revive the Iranian nuclear agreement that the administration of former Republican President Donald Trump withdrew from in 2018. Saudi Arabia and the UAE also resented Washington’s conditions on US arms sales. The UAE said last December that it would suspend negotiations to buy US F-35 fighter jets due to conditions on sales.
So far, the Gulf states have refused to take sides in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have also opposed calls to increase oil production to calm its prices, which have raised inflation rates worldwide.
The Middle East was not a priority for the Biden administration, whose primary concern was tackling the Chinese challenge. Since last February, the Ukrainian war has dominated the US foreign policy agenda.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Royal Court stated that King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud directed his Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, to go to the Emirates to offer condolences and sympathy on the death of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed.