JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Transatlantic Today) — On Saturday, President Joe Biden met with Middle Eastern leaders. He was expected to address ways to strengthen ties between Israel and its Arab neighbors as well as tactics to combat the rising nuclear threat presented by Iran.
Before addressing a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which consists of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, the UAE, and Kuwait, Biden had one-on-one meetings with the leaders of Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt. He is due to go back to Washington after the talks.
According to senior administration sources, Biden wanted to set standards at the summit about the role he sees for the United States in the Middle East and his determination to prevent China and Russia from gaining more influence in the area. He has observed that the United States has not had troops serving in a military operation in the Middle East during any president’s visit there in the previous 20 years.
In addition to meeting with Israeli, Saudi, and Palestinian officials, the summit will mark Biden’s first trip to the Middle East as president. The move by Saudi Arabia to allow flights to and from Israel was one of the little steps Biden was able to assist forward during the visit towards improving ties in the region, but he admitted that more significant reforms will take time.
According to NBC NEWS, the president is anticipated to return from the trip without receiving any firm pledges from the Gulf nations to raise oil output, which would have helped him address his main domestic concern of inflation.
Due in part to Biden’s choice to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who the U.S. intelligence community determined was responsible for the death of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the trip has generated controversy back home.
Biden’s national security advisor Jake Sullivan expected that the president would speak about “tighter coordination and collaboration” regarding Iran as well as investments in the Middle East’s energy and digital infrastructure during his discussions with Gulf leaders on Saturday.
Biden stated that he would also bring up with the Gulf leaders Israel’s intention to proceed toward normalizing relations with other nations in the area, similar to the measures it has previously made with Bahrain, Morocco, and the UAE, during his visit to Israel earlier this week.
