Saudi Arabia

White House Confirms Biden's Saudi Arabia Trip

JUN 7 2022·Updated DEC 28 2022

Story

Image credit: Reuters [via Al Jazeera]

The Facts

On Tues., the White House confirmed that US Pres. Biden's first presidential trip to the Middle East from July 13-16 will include a visit to Saudi Arabia - where he will reportedly meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS).
guardian
Biden will also hold talks with PM Naftali Bennett in Israel, and meet his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas before attending a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting with Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
CNN
Visiting the kingdom marks a further departure from Biden's campaign pledges to make Saudi Arabia a "pariah" and to "reassess" bilateral relations in the aftermath of the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and the years-long Yemen war.
Al Jazeera
The US rapprochement with Saudi Arabia comes amid the war in Ukraine, which has also led to sanctions against Russian oil imports. Subsequently, Washington urged Riyadh to expand its oil production to alleviate supply shortages and reduce rising gas prices in the US and globally.
guardian
After initially rejecting the requests, the US welcomed a recent decision by OPEC+ to increase oil production, and Saudi Arabia's agreement to extend a truce with Iran-backed forces in Yemen.
www.ft.com
Meanwhile, global energy prices continue to rise, with analysts expecting Biden's trip to Saudi Arabia to make little difference due to the sanctions against Russian energy supplies, and global demand is unlikely to be met by ramped-up Saudi production alone.
Bloomberg.com

Sources Split

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The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

Challenging global developments and US national interests have compelled Washington to maintain ties with Saudi Arabia and MBS. Riyadh is a controversial but important partner. Given the kingdom's reliance on Washington, Biden could even leverage the trip to persuade MBS to make concessions on human rights.

wapo

Establishment-critical narrative

This is just another example of the US' hypocritical double standards regarding international affairs. It was the CIA who held MBS directly responsible for Khashoggi's murder, but as soon as the US' own economic and geopolitical interests were at stake, it threw its alleged values overboard. Out of sheer desperation, the US is now increasingly humiliating itself on the world stage and making itself the "pariah" of credibility.

PressTV