WASHINGTON – President Biden, who as a candidate promised to make Saudi Arabia “pariah” in response to the assassination of a prominent dissident, decided to travel to Riyadh this month to restore relations with the oil-rich kingdom as he seeks to reduce gas prices at home and isolate Russia abroad.
While logistics and timing were still being clarified, Mr Biden planned to add the visit to a pre-planned trip to Europe and Israel, administration officials said, requesting anonymity as the trip had not been officially announced. During his stop in Riyadh, he will meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was held responsible for the assassination, as well as leaders of other Arab nations, including Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates.
The visit represents the triumph of real politics over moral outrage, according to foreign policy experts. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Mr Biden found it necessary to court other energy producers to replace Moscow’s oil and stabilize world markets. A group of oil producers called OPEC Plus, led by Saudi Arabia, announced on Thursday that they would modestly increase production in July and August. U.S. officials expect them to do more in the fall, but that may not be enough to bring down pump prices ahead of the November congressional election.
The Biden administration has already stepped up co-operation with Saudi Arabia on various issues in recent months, especially in seeking an end to Saudi Arabia’s eight-year war in neighboring Yemen. A two-month truce was extended on Thursday, and Mr Biden praised Saudi leaders for their role. “Saudi Arabia has demonstrated bold leadership by taking initiatives at an early stage to approve and implement the terms of the UN-led ceasefire,” he said in a statement.
The president’s diplomacy and trip are an effort to bridge the rift stemming from the brutal 2018 assassination of Jamal Kashoghi, a prominent critic of the Saudi government and a columnist for The Washington Post. U.S. intelligence has concluded that Prince Mohammed, the de facto leader of the kingdom, ordered the slain team that killed and dismembered Mr. Hashoghi at a consulate in Istanbul.
While President Donald J. Trump has maintained close relations with the Saudis, and Mr. Biden has promised to take a different approach if elected to the White House. He said he would make the Saudis “pay the price and actually make them pariah as they are”, while saying that “there is very little social redemption value in the current government in Saudi Arabia”.
After taking office, Mr Biden released an intelligence report on Mr Hashoghi’s assassination as a declaration of responsibility and imposed sanctions on some of those involved in the assassination. But he has taken no action against Prince Mohammed, drawing a line on how far he is willing to break with Riyadh even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shakes energy markets and increases Saudi Arabia’s importance to Washington.
The administration says it has put an end to Trump’s team’s blank check policy for Riyadh, but does not want to end America’s eight-decade friendship with Saudi Arabia, an important ally on various issues.
“Saudi Arabia is an important partner for us in tackling extremism in the region, in tackling the challenges posed by Iran, and I also hope to continue the process of building relations between Israel and its neighbors both near and far through the continuation, the extension of the Abraham Agreement, “said Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken on Wednesday at an event marking the 100th anniversary of Foreign Affairs magazine.
Mr Biden had already planned to end Prince Mohammed’s isolation back in October last year, when he expected to meet the Saudi leader at a meeting of the Group of 20 leaders, but the prince was not present.
Understanding the Hashoghi murder case
But the newly planned stop in Riyadh, announced earlier by David Ignatius, a columnist for The Post, has drawn quick criticism from human rights groups condemning any diplomatic rehabilitation of Prince Mohammed.
“Biden is currently affected by intersecting crises, and as a result, certain human rights priorities are suffering,” said Susanne Nosel, president of PEN America, a group that advocates for writers around the world. “The more difficult it becomes to put human rights above politics, the more important it is for the world to witness a leader who wants to do so.”
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