The President of the United States, Joe Biden, reiterated this Saturday his country’s commitment to the Middle East and outlined a vision for the region based on diplomacy in a message that seeks to push China, Russia and Iran aside from an area where Washington wants to maintain its influence.
On the final day of his Middle East tour, Biden met with the leaders of Iraq, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, and also participated in a GCC+3 Gulf Cooperation Council summit, where he sat next to the host. and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“We are not going anywhere and we will not leave a vacuum that can be filled by China, Russia or Iran. We are going to build on this moment an active American leadership”said the US president in a speech at the beginning of the GCC+3 summit.
Biden advocated diplomacy to resolve conflicts, but warned that “in any case” The United States will not let Iran develop a nuclear weapon.
During his visit to Israel, Biden said during an interview that he would use military force against Tehran as a “last resort” if it develops a nuclear bomb, although he resisted pressure from Israeli authorities, who advocate “credible” military threats to stop to the Islamic Republic.
With Saudi Arabia, the president signed a joint declaration to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
At the summit, as the US wanted, they discussed the possibility of countries in the region coordinating their air defense systems to deal with rockets, drones and missiles from Iran and the groups it supports, including the rebels. Yemeni Houthis.
This military integration would also include the exchange of intelligence on possible threats, according to the final statement of the meeting released by the official Saudi news agency, SPA.
Despite the tension with Iran, Biden dismissed the possibility of a new war with US troops in the region after the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Today,” he said, “I am proud to be able to say that the era of ground wars in the region, wars that involve a large number of US forces, is no longer underway.”
The United States, however, does continue to carry out operations against groups it considers terrorists in the Middle East.
Terrorism, in fact, was one of the issues that Biden addressed with the acting Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa al Kazemi, whom he thanked for his efforts to repatriate members of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group from Syria and try them.
LIMITS TO CRUDE EXTRACTION
The US message was received very differently by the leaders of the region, who took the opportunity to make their own claims during the summit which, in addition to the presence of the GCC leaders, included the leaders of Iraq, Egypt and Jordan. .
Bin Salmán, who acted as host, took the opportunity to make it clear to Biden that he will not be able to increase his production beyond 13 million barrels per day it aims to achieve by 2027 because the kingdom does not have “additional capacity” to extract more oil.
He also warned that “unrealistic” policies to reduce carbon emissions could end up generating an “unprecedented” increase in inflation, so he called for the transition to clean energy to be done gradually and taking into account to hydrocarbon producers.
According to the White House, the authorities of Saudi Arabia, leader of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), promised yesterday in a meeting with Biden to act to balance the markets, although there will be no steps in that direction until “the next few weeks.” ”.
For his part, the emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, promised this Saturday before Biden and other Arab leaders that he will work to guarantee the “continuous flow” of energy supplies and alleviate the impact of the war in Ukraine on the economy. world.
Qatar is not a member of OPEC, but it is one of the main exporters of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in the world.
RELATIONSHIP WITH ISRAEL
The other issue that flew over the summit was the US attempts to get Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia, to establish diplomatic ties with Israel taking advantage of the Abraham Accords, with which the Jewish state normalized relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.
Precisely, Riyadh announced the opening of its airspace to Israel; But, in a press conference after the summit, the Saudi foreign minister, Faisal bin Farhan, said that this “is not preparation for any future steps”.
Despite US mediation, relations with Israel remain complicated, as the Qatari emir made clear, who during his speech at the summit veiled criticism of the Arab countries that reached agreements with the Jewish state.
After the summit Biden left for the US, putting an end to his tour of the Middle East, the first since he came to power in January 2021.
(With information from EFE)
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Source-www.infobae.com