BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) -- US President Joe Biden finally "bowed" to high oil prices and personally went to the Middle East to find oil. From July 13 to 16, Biden began his first trip to the Middle East, visiting Israel, the West Bank and Saudi Arabia.
With the Russian-Ukrainian conflict superimposed on the energy crisis, can Biden persuade Saudi Arabia and other Gulf oil producers to significantly increase production? The United States was originally anxious to withdraw from the Middle East, and now it has turned back to frequently "overture" to try to win over allies and build a "Middle East version of NATO" to contain Countries such as Iran and Russia.
Source: US President Joe Biden. Image source: Visual China
Biden's Roadmap for the Middle East
Just a few days before the trip, Biden wrote a high-profile article in the US media, claiming that he would vigorously launch a diplomatic offensive in the Middle East. He hopes that this trip to the Middle East will open a more hopeful "new chapter".
First stop: Israel
According to the schedule released by the White House, Biden chose his traditional ally Israel for the first stop, and is expected to visit local missile defense facilities as a symbol of the US commitment to protection of Israel.
Second stop: West Bank
Biden will then meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Senior White House officials said Biden looked forward to reaffirming his commitment to the "two-state solution" on the Palestinian-Israeli issue during the meeting.
Third stop: Saudi Arabia
After that, Biden will fly to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia's second largest city, and whether the two countries will "break the ice" is of particular concern to the outside world. Previously, U.S.-Saudi relations were based on "oil for security," but in recent years, due to the killing of Saudi journalist Khashoggi and other incidents, Biden himself has repeatedly criticized Saudi Arabia's human rights record during the US election. Now, Biden has claimed to recalibrate U.S.-Saudi relations and is said to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Biden will also attend the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Iraq, Jordan and Egypt (GCC+3) summits to discuss a range of bilateral, regional and global issues.
Why did the United States, which has continued to "strategically shrink" from the Middle East in recent years, change its attitude and eat "back grass"?
Data chart: October 27, 2021 News, Saudi Arabia is turning an oil rig into a theme park in the country. The move aims to make Saudi Arabia a top international tourist destination. Image source: Visual China
Looking for oil: Biden "bows his head" to high oil prices
Finding oil is undoubtedly one of the main tasks of Biden's trip to the Middle East.
For months, domestic oil prices have soared and inflation has been high. Biden has tried to stabilize oil prices and even released oil reserves several times, but with little success. After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, the energy embargo imposed by the United States and the West on Russia has caused a huge supply gap. The Middle East, which is "floating on oil", has thus become an important "variable".
Back in March, the White House tried to arrange for Biden to call the leaders of saudi arabia and the United Arab Emirates, a major oil producer, to discuss curbing oil prices. Unexpectedly, both the Saudi crown prince and the crown prince of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates refused to accept Biden's call.
Now, Biden is personally traveling to the Middle East, planning to explain in person the reasons why OPEC countries are increasing oil production. This time, how many Gulf oil producers will give face?
Bloomberg is not optimistic about this, arguing that Biden may only get a "symbolic" increase in oil production, which will not help reduce domestic oil prices in the United States. The Associated Press believes that OPEC+ including Saudi Arabia may remain cautious in the face of US demands.
After all, the U.S. has pressed OPEC+ many times before, but the latter eventually agreed to only slightly increase production. Malik, head of oil and gas industry research at JPMorgan Chase, also noted that Saudi Arabia itself is more cautious about rapid production increases, believing that it needs enough reserves to deal with any changes that may occur in the market.
On the other hand, the Gulf countries represented by Saudi Arabia have also been trying to avoid "taking sides" between the United States and Russia. Reuters said there was no indication that Saudi Arabia was prepared to sacrifice its long-standing relationship with Russia in exchange for short-term diplomatic gains in response to Biden's oil demands.
Data chart: On January 28, 2020, former US President Trump and former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a joint press conference at the White House to announce the so-called "agreement of the century" to promote the settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli issue. The Palestinian side has previously said the agreement violates international law and called on the international community to reject it. Photo by Chen Mengtong, a reporter of China News Service
Members: Trying to build a "Middle East version of NATO"
In addition to finding oil, Biden's other intentions are also clear - trying to win over allies and create a military alliance , the "Middle East version of NATO" to counter countries such as Iran and Russia.
According to German media, the military alliance is most likely to include countries that have established some kind of relationship with Israel, such as the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, signatories to the Abraham Accord. Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait may also have a role to play in the alliance.
In fact, the rumors of military alliances have been circulating in the Middle East for a long time. Since the Trump era, the United States has been accused of exerting pressure to "normalize military relations" between Israel and the Arab Gulf states. In March, the United States convened a secret meeting of senior Israeli and Arab military officials. In June, Israel revealed that it was establishing a "Middle East Air Defense Alliance" (MEAD) funded by the United States. Shortly thereafter, King Abdullah II of Jordan explicitly mentioned and expressed support for the concept of a "Middle East version of NATO."
So how long until the "Middle East version of NATO" becomes a reality?
Qatar's Al Jazeera believes that the alliance faces many feasible obstacles in terms of structural form, and there is a lack of consensus among all parties. Taking the Iranian issue as an example, many Gulf Arab countries believe that dialogue with Iran is the safest way to address security concerns.
Even Bloomberg has "poured cold water" on Biden - "The Middle East version of NATO? Impossible. ”
Image source: Screenshot of the Bloomberg report.
The Biden administration is eager to reshuffle the Middle East, but many of its policies are not different from the Trump era in the eyes of the US media. In the face of the Biden administration that inherited the "America First", how many Middle Eastern countries will "buy it"? The answer is self-evident. (End)