Why is President Joe Biden now "waiting" for a visit to Saudi Arabia?

 Why is President Joe Biden now "waiting" for a visit to Saudi Arabia?

Joe Biden is visiting Saudi Arabia and Israel for the first time since becoming US president. His visit is being hailed as a major step towards improving US relations with the Middle East.

Biden will pay a four-day visit to both countries in July.

Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia comes just months after reports emerged that Saudi leaders had refused to speak to Biden on the phone, despite efforts by the US administration.

Biden himself has been critical of Saudi Arabia's poor human rights record. When Biden was campaigning for the presidency in 2019, he vowed to "isolate" Saudi Arabia over the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashkji.

In 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist from Saudi Arabia, was assassinated at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Western intelligence agencies suspect that the assassination was ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Now the same visit to Saudi Arabia marks a major shift in the Biden administration's policy. After Biden came to power, the White House was told that it would only talk to its counterparts. ''That is, his counterpart in Saudi Arabia is King Salman.'' 

The Crown Prince is the Secretary of Defense, and only the United States Secretary of Defense will speak to him.

Oil prices behind Biden's change of strategy?

Donald Trump was the first US president to visit Saudi Arabia on his first foreign trip since taking office. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia was considered close to Trump. After becoming president, Trump broke with the prevailing tradition that any US president would go to Canada or Mexico on his first foreign trip.

Biden's victory in the US election was formally congratulated by Saudi Arabia. But four years ago, when Donald Trump came to the White House after winning, Saudi Arabia was quick to congratulate the new president.

Rising energy prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine have made the Biden administration realize that this is not the right time to escalate tensions with Saudi Arabia.

For the first time in 14 years, the price of crude oil has reached 130 130 per barrel. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are the only countries that can increase oil production by millions of barrels.

Saudi Arabia has been repeatedly asked by several Biden administration officials to increase oil production, but these efforts have failed.

Brett McGregor, the White House's chief of staff for Middle East affairs, and Ames Hutchinson, a US energy adviser, also visited Saudi Arabia, but returned empty-handed.

However, OPEC Plus, a group of oil-producing countries led by Saudi Arabia, has announced that it is ready to increase production by 50% this summer.

John Kirby, a senior White House official, told Al Arabiya News that meetings during Biden's visit would focus on the Saudi war in Yemen and oil prices.

A report released by the US Central Intelligence Agency in February last year states that Crown Prince Salman himself had approved a plot to assassinate Saudi Arabian journalist and critic Jamal Khashkji. It should be noted that Khashoggi was assassinated in Istanbul.

Salman had denied allegations of ordering Khashoggi's assassination. However, relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia have remained strained since then.

If Biden's visit succeeds, it will ease tensions between the two countries, which have soured since Khashkji's assassination. It will also be an indication of changes in Biden's policy on diplomacy since February.

Under Biden's administration, the United States has also been criticized for focusing on the challenges of China and Russia, rather than the Middle East.

''I assure you that the Middle East is one of our priorities in the region. We are not going anywhere. The Middle East is a very important region, not only for our national interest, but for the whole world,'' John Kirby told Al Arabiy.

According to information, President Biden's visit is due to security concerns over petrol prices.

In March of this year, the Wall Street Journal claimed in a report that the White House had tried to get President Biden to speak to the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates by phone. But this attempt failed.

According to the report, both Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates had rejected the US offer of talks with Biden.

The report quoted an official who was preparing for the talks between Biden and the Saudi prince as saying that "some expectations were attached to the phone call, but they were not met."

However, Biden spoke to Saudi King Salman on February 9. At the same time, the UAE Foreign Ministry said that the date for talks between Biden and Sheikh Mohammed would be rescheduled.

What did the White House say during Biden's visit?

Biden will visit Israel and Saudi Arabia from July 13 to 16. In the meantime, Biden will also meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

In a statement issued Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karen Jane said, "We appreciate the leadership of President Salman and his invitation. He is looking forward to this important visit to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has been a key strategic partner of the United States for almost eight decades.

Biden's visit will begin in Israel and the West Bank. He will then travel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where Biden will attend the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) conference and meet with local leaders. The conference will be attended by leaders of nine countries, including Egypt, Jordan and Iraq.

What did Biden say before he became president?

Biden vowed during his election campaign to isolate Saudi Arabia. Andoun, meanwhile, indicated that Saudi Arabia would be held responsible for the killing of Khashoggi.

Biden also said that Saudi Arabia was killing children and innocent people in Yemen.

According to a Newsweek report, Biden said in October 2020: "Under the Biden and Harris administrations, we will review our relations with Saudi Arabia, end US support for the Saudi war in Yemen, and We will make sure that the United States is not allowed to compromise on its values ​​in order to sell arms or buy oil. "

US President Joe Biden will make another history with this visit. For the first time, they are going directly to Riyadh from Israel. Saudi Arabia and Israel have no diplomatic relations.

Saudi Arabia recently allowed commercial flights from Israel to the United Arab Emirates to enter its airspace. President Joe Biden will also meet with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Palestinian Administrator Mahmood Abbas.