Biden Putin went to the Middle East: the United States wants to envelop Israel and Saudi Arabia, and Russia will unite with Turkey and Iran

Source: Global Times

[Global Times comprehensive report] US President Biden opened a visit to Israel, Palestine and Saudi Arabia on the 13th. Fox News said that at a time when domestic poll approval ratings were "miserable," Biden hoped to "win much-needed victory" through his first trip to the Middle East since taking office. However, few media outlets have made optimistic predictions about his trip. "He's going to face a region where problems are rife and there are very few solutions," said Aaron Miller, a former State Department official. Nothing would be more embarrassing for Biden than to ask the Saudis to "help stabilize the oil market," because every cent gain per gallon of gasoline means the votes Democrats could lose in the midterm elections. According to the Wall Street Journal reported on the 13th, Saudi officials had already left the words before his visit: the country has no plan to "stop interacting with Russia", nor does it have a plan to "help the United States" by extracting more crude oil. They may not forget that Biden said during his presidential campaign that Saudi Arabia "should be treated as a pariah for human rights violations." Just as Biden flew to the Middle East, the Kremlin announced that Russian President Putin would travel to the Middle East on the 19th, and he would go to Tehran to attend the three-nation summit of Russia, Turkey and Iran.

The United States and Israel want to use the two islands to buy Saudi Arabia

Biden flew to Tel Aviv on the afternoon of the 13th local time on the "Air Force One" to begin his 4-day trip to the Middle East. According to the US Capitol Hill website, he spoke at the airport that this was his tenth visit to Israel and that "our relationship with Israel is deeper and stronger than ever." According to the "Times of Israel" report, on the 14th, after Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Rapid met, the two sides will issue a joint statement on the future of US-Israeli relations, which will promise that the two countries will "use all national forces" to prevent Iran from manufacturing nuclear weapons. Biden also arranged brief talks with Israeli opposition leader Netanyahu to avoid giving washington the impression that he was "taking sides" ahead of Israel's election in November. After finishing his trip to Israel, Biden will travel to the West Bank to meet palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Biden will then travel to Saudi Arabia, where "the best of the best will be staged this Friday or Saturday, when Biden is expected to meet face-to-face with Saudi Crown Prince Bin Salman." Biden will also attend the GCC summit over the weekend to meet with the leaders of the six GCC countries and representatives from Qatar, Jordan and Iraq.

The Washington Post said on the 13th that White House officials said that Biden's mission has a clear goal: to help Israel further integrate into the Middle East, consolidate the delicate ceasefire between Saudi Arabia and Yemen, align with Saudi Arabia, Israel and other Middle East partners on the issue of the nuclear agreement with Iran, and "counter the influence of China and Russia in the Middle East." NpR said the U.S. government has been urging Gulf states to maintain high oil supplies as oil and gas prices rise and midterm elections approach. Although White House officials declared the trip "not related to oil," they added that "energy security" was one of the issues.

The US "Politics" news network said on the 13th that the possible results of this visit are: 100 million US dollars for Palestinian hospitals; There is a possibility of a Saudi agreement to allow Israeli flights to fly over its airspace; They may also discuss building an "integrated air defense system" to block Iran's missiles.

A Middle Eastern diplomat told The Times of Israel that Washington is using diplomatic mediation to transfer jurisdiction over the two islands of the Red Sea from Egypt to Saudi Arabia as a way to encourage Riyadh to take steps toward normalizing relations with Israel. As part of the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli Peace Agreement, Israel transferred control of the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Senafir to Egypt, and the two sides agreed to demilitarize those islands and allow for the presence of observer state forces. The Middle East diplomat said Israel was now seeking similar assurances from Saudi Arabia, but Riyadh had been reluctant to reach a written pledge.

"Biden faces a lot of embarrassment on this trip"

Biden's visit is not favored by all parties. Iranian President Lehi said on the 13th that Biden's trip to the Middle East will not bring "security" to Israel. An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman last week said in response to a U.S. or a plan to build an "integrated air defense system" with Middle Eastern countries that the U.S. move was provocative and tried to raise new security concerns in the region, and accused the U.S. side of not being able to create a safe border for Israel by deceiving and publicizing "Iranophobia."

Emirati political science scholar Abdullah Wrote to Biden on cnn's Arabic channel website: "Mr. President, you will meet with several new leaders of the GCC countries, who may be about the same age as your children and grandchildren... You'd better realize that their world is no longer the same as yours, and that their trust in the United States in recent years is shaking and no longer as determined as their parents were. When Israel hung 1,000 star-spangled flags in Jerusalem to welcome Biden's arrival, in Bethlehem, the West Bank, 55-year-old taxi driver Salasra told USA Today: "No one cares that he will come, we have no hope." Trump is certainly worse than Biden, but all U.S. presidents are bad for the Palestinians. Qatar's Al Jazeera said on the 12th that Biden's current position on the Palestinian-Israeli issue is "closer to Trump than Obama."

ABC said on the 13th that the most closely watched meeting will be Biden's first meeting with the Saudi crown prince. Biden said during the presidential campaign that Saudi Arabia should be treated as a "pariah" for human rights abuses. His government released a declassified intelligence report saying Ben Salman "may have approved" the 2018 murder of journalist Khashoggi. However, "the shift in energy policy has caused Biden to change his tone, especially as U.S. drivers face high refueling costs." In fact, before his visit to Saudi Arabia, in order to quell many dissatisfaction and criticism in the United States, Biden wrote an article in the Washington Post to defend himself. He said the visit to Saudi Arabia comes at a "critical juncture" in the region and will advance U.S. "vital interests." He also linked U.S. strength and security to "fighting Russian aggression and competition from China," claiming that direct engagement with countries such as Saudi Arabia would help "facilitate these efforts."

NPR said on the 12th that the meeting with the Saudi crown prince means that the Biden administration has "turned the page" for the US-Arab relations. The meeting itself would be a victory for Bin Salman, who sought to repair his image and attract Western investment in Saudi Arabia. But politics news network said U.S.-Israeli officials and experts said "there is no guarantee that Riyadh will turn on the oil tap."

The United States "Market Watch" also said on the 12th that Biden's trip "will not bring any earth-shattering news to the oil market." Oil prices are already hovering above $100 a barrel, but analysts say limits on oil capacity are an insurmountable hurdle. After Biden's visit, Saudi Arabia may agree to ease oil supplies, but must act within the framework of the current OPEC+(+ 10 other oil-producing countries led by Russia).

"Biden's trip faces a lot of embarrassment", the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) said on the 13th, in politics, Biden's visit may once again remind people that the influence of the United States in the Middle East is declining; Biden will call for a "two-state solution" again, but he also knows that when he leaves, the solution will be as distant as before; Without Saudi support, the U.S. plan to prevent Russia from earning oil and gas revenues won't work. Tehran Summit, "The Alliance Has Just Begun"

"Biden goes to Saudi Arabia, and Putin will go to Iran", the Russian News Agency reported on the 13th that as much as biden's visit to the Middle East, the world's attention is that Russian President Putin almost immediately after Biden left the Middle East to go to Iran to hold a summit with Turkey and the Iranian president. Under russia's good offices, "the reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran will finally break the US attempt to isolate Russia and provide cheap fuel to the West." The Russian Federal News Agency quoted experts as saying on the 13th that Putin's visit is very important to Russia, and Putin will meet "the leaders of countries that do not participate in sanctions against Russia", "and this alliance has just begun."

Russia's "Viewpoint" said on the 13th that the Kremlin announced that Putin will conduct a "landmark" foreign visit next week; On the same day, Biden's presidential national security adviser, Sullivan, declared that Iran was prepared to "supply hundreds of drones to Russia." "The United States is effectively accusing its two geopolitical rivals of establishing military ties," the report said.

Russian Presidential Press Secretary Peskov told the media on the 13th that he "did not comment" on Washington's report on "drones", and the Tehran summit will not discuss this issue. Referring to Biden's upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia, he said the Saudis were "not expected to take any action against Russia."

Iran's Tasnim news agency said Putin's visit to Iran "is a response to Biden's trip to the Middle East" and that economic cooperation will be a priority for Iran-Russia cooperation. In an interview with reporters on the 12th, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Kanani did not deny the matter of "Iran providing drones to Russia" as claimed by the United States, and said that modern scientific and technological cooperation between Iran and Russia "can be traced back to before the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis" and "there has been no special change in the recent future".

[Global Times Special Correspondent in Egypt Huang Peizhao Global Times Special Correspondent in Iran Gong Jueyuan Ren Zhong Liu Yupeng]