JEDDAH, July 16(ABC): US President Joe Biden meets with Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia on Saturday seeking to persuade Washington’s Gulf allies to pump more oil and to integrate Israel in the region as part of a new axis largely driven by shared concerns over Iran.
Biden, on the second leg of his first Middle East trip as president, has focused on the planned summit with six Gulf states and Egypt, Jordan and Iraq while downplaying meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a move that has drawn criticism in the United States over human rights abuses.
Biden had promised to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” on the global stage over the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents, but ultimately decided US interests dictated a recalibration, not a rupture, in relations with the world’s top oil exporter and Arab powerhouse.
Biden needs Saudi help at a time of high crude prices and other problems related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and as he encourages efforts to end the Yemen war, where a temporary truce is in place. Washington also wants to curb Iran’s sway in the region and China’s global influence.
