White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said President Joe Biden is committed to strengthening relations between the United States and the Kingdom at all levels.
Sullivan stressed that his country is working with Saudi Arabia to resolve problems in the region, primarily food security and the Iranian threat.
He added that ahead of Biden’s tour of the Middle East today, the US president will take part in a virtual four-way summit with the leaders of Israel, the United Arab Emirates and India, focusing on food security.
He indicated that Biden would discuss energy security with leaders of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) during his tour, which includes the occupied West Bank and Israel and then move to Saudi Arabia.
“We will have the opportunity to talk about energy security with OPEC leaders in the Middle East,” Sullivan said.
Political circles in the Middle East and the world are looking forward to the visit of US President Joe Biden to Saudi Arabia on the 16th and 17th of this month in light of 4 burning issues, most notably the need for Iran to comply with the nuclear agreement, the consequences of the Ukrainian-Russian war, energy prices and the peace process in the Middle East, as well as the strengthening of a partnership between the two countries that has lasted for more than 80 years. There is a consensus in the policies of the two countries to revive the peace process and support a truce in Yemen.
On the first day of his visit to the Kingdom, Biden is due to meet with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz and his Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to discuss strategic partnerships and outstanding issues, including Iranian infiltration into Arab countries. countries, inflaming the situation in Yemen, and the consequences of the Ukrainian-Russian war on energy prices with the gradual cessation of Europe from the use of Russian gas and oil, as well as the issue of peace between the Palestinians and Israelis will be discussed in the negotiations. in light of declining American interest in the cause and Palestinian assurances that American economic assistance is not an alternative to peace.
The next day, Biden will also attend the Gulf Cooperation Council Leaders’ Summit in Jeddah in the presence of the leaders of Egypt, Jordan and Iraq.
This visit takes place in the context of key regional and international transformations after the Russian invasion of Ukraine with all its economic, energy and geopolitical consequences, as well as in the context of the ongoing escalation between Israel and Iran. Strategist in the Arab and Islamic world.
Among the topics that will be high on Biden’s agenda in the Gulf are energy prices and the ability to make up for the shortfall in Russian oil and gas use, a nuclear deal that my predecessor abandoned with no plan for what could replace it.
Last month, more than 30 countries joined us in condemning Iran’s lack of cooperation with the IAEA on its past nuclear activities, and my administration will continue to increase diplomatic and economic pressure until Iran is and is ready to return to compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal. of the year. .
“In Israel, we helped end the Gaza war in just 11 days,” Biden wrote in the Washington Post.
And we have worked with Israel, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan to keep the peace by preventing the terrorists from rearming. We have also restored America’s relationship with the Palestinians.
Working with Congress, my administration has reallocated nearly $500 million in support for the Palestinians, and also handed over the largest support package to Israel—more than $4 billion—in history.
Joint Agreement in the Archives of Peace and the Containment of Iran
The Kingdom and the United States agree on the need for peace in the Middle East, endorse a two-state solution to the Palestinian problem, stop Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, and prevent Tehran from funding and arming extremist militias seeking to weaken the Arab states and destroy the State of Israel.
The United States and the Kingdom need to support each other equally to help renew the partnership, help the world avoid the scourge of another world war, and save millions of lives.
No US pressure on oil
US President Joe Biden confirmed (June 30) for the last time that he will not work during his visit to Riyadh to apply pressure to increase oil production to limit a significant rise in energy prices, explaining that the agenda is far goes beyond energy policy, and mentioned that world oil prices as well as production levels are no longer controlled by OPEC alone.
In this regard, representatives of 13 member states of the organization, in addition to a group of other non-member oil-producing countries led by Russia in the form of the so-called “OPEC Plus”, met at which they agreed to increase production by 648,000 barrels per day in July and August.
The coronavirus pandemic came and plunged oil prices to rock bottom, prompting Saudi-led OPEC to step up its cooperation with Moscow to control the market.