His remarks, made to the Gulf Cooperation Council on the final leg of a four-day tour of the Middle East, came amid concerns over Iran’s nuclear ambitions and support for militants in the region. “We’re not going to walk away and leave a vacuum to be filled by China, Russia or Iran,” Biden said. “We will seek to seize this moment with active, principled, American leadership.” Although U.S. forces continue to target terrorists in the region and remain deployed at bases across the Middle East, Biden suggested he is turning the page after the country’s invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. “Today, I’m proud to say that the era of land wars in the region, wars that involved massive numbers of American forces, is no longer underway,” he said. He announced $1 billion in US aid for famine relief in the region and pressed his counterparts, many of whom lead repressive governments, to ensure human rights, including women’s rights, and allow their citizens to speak out . “The future will be won by countries that unleash the full potential of their populations,” he said, including by allowing people to “question and criticize leaders without fear of reprisal.” Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, convened the summit, which gave him an opportunity to showcase his country’s heavy role in the region. He also hinted that the kingdom could pump more oil than it does today, something Biden hopes to see when an existing production deal between OPEC+ member countries expires in September. Before the summit began, Biden met individually with the leaders of Iraq, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, some of whom he had not met since taking office. He invited Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who became president of the UAE two months ago, to visit the White House this year. The Gulf Cooperation Council meeting in the Red Sea port of Jeddah was an opportunity for Biden to demonstrate his commitment to the region after spending most of his presidency focused on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s growing influence in Asia . On Saturday, the White House released satellite images showing Russian officials visited Iran in June and July to view weapons-capable drones it wants to acquire for use in Ukraine. The revelation appeared to be intended to draw a connection between the European war and Arab leaders’ own concerns about Iran. So far, none of the countries represented at the summit have moved to ally with the US to impose sanctions on Russia, a key foreign policy priority for the Biden administration. If anything, the UAE has emerged as a kind of financial haven for Russian billionaires and their multi-million dollar yachts. Egypt remains open to Russian tourists. A senior Biden administration official, who briefed reporters ahead of the summit, said Moscow’s efforts to acquire drones from Tehran show Russia is “essentially making a bet on Iran.” Biden’s appearance at the Gulf Cooperation Council summit followed his meeting on Friday with Prince Mohammed, the heir to the throne currently held by his father, King Salman. The 79-year-old president had initially shunned the 36-year-old royal over human rights abuses, particularly the killing of US-based author Jamal Khashoggi, which US intelligence officials believe was likely approved by the crown prince. But Biden decided he needed to repair the longstanding relationship between the two countries to counter rising gas prices and boost stability in the volatile region. Biden and Prince Mohammed greeted each other with a fist bump when the president arrived at the royal palace in Jeddah, a gesture that was quickly criticized by some US lawmakers as well as the slain journalist’s fiancee. Biden later said he did not hesitate to discuss Khashoggi’s assassination when they met with the crown prince. The issue created a “frosty” start to the debate, according to a US official familiar with the private conversations. But the atmosphere eventually became more relaxed, the official said, as they talked about energy security, expanding high-speed Internet access in the Middle East and other issues. Biden even tried to inject some humor into the conversation toward the end of the meeting, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of a private meeting. Saudi news network Al Arabiya, citing an unnamed Saudi source, reported that Prince Mohammed responded to Biden’s mention of Khashoggi by saying efforts to impose a set of values can fail. He also said the US made mistakes at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, where prisoners were tortured, and pressured Biden over the killing of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh during a recent Israeli raid in the West Bank city of Jenin. Adel Al-Jubeir, the kingdom’s foreign minister, called the visit “a great success” and resolved questions about friction between the two countries. . “Perhaps skeptics are people who seek theatrics or dramas. The reality, however, is that this relationship is very stable,” he told Arab News, a Saudi news organization. There are sharp disagreements over foreign policy among the nine Middle Eastern heads of state that participate in the Gulf Cooperation Council. For example, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates are trying to isolate and squeeze Iran over its regional reach and proxies. Oman and Qatar, on the other hand, have strong diplomatic ties with Iran and have acted as intermediaries for talks between Washington and Tehran. Qatar recently hosted talks between US and Iranian officials as they try to revive the Iran nuclear deal. Not only does Iran share a huge undersea gas field with Qatar in the Persian Gulf, but it rushed to Qatar’s aid when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed relations and imposed a multi-year embargo on Qatar which ended shortly before Biden took office. . Biden’s actions have frustrated some of the leaders. While the US played an important role in encouraging a months-long ceasefire in Yemen, its decision to reverse a Trump-era move that had designated Yemen’s Houthi rebels as a terrorist group angered the Emirati and Saudi leadership. —- Batrawy reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Megerian and Miller reported from Washington.
