Biden goes home with no Saudi commitment on oil production: WSJ

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
16 Jul 2022 22:50
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Despite US President Joe Biden’s attempt to repair relations with MBS during his visit to Saudi Arabia, Biden is returning to Washington without any oil commitment from the Saudis.

Biden met with Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS).

On Friday, Biden met with Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), the de facto ruler who, according to US intelligence agencies, ordered the operation that resulted in the murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

Biden claimed after a fist bump with MBS that he brought up the Khashoggi case and warned against future attacks on dissidents.

The trip to Saudi Arabia marked the first of its kind made by a US President. Biden held talks with Saudi officials and then attended the Jeddah Summit.

MBS himself presided over the summit's opening session on Saturday, and the King did not attend.

US thirst for oil

President Joe Biden stated that he expects further oil supply increases from the Kingdom to help tame domestic fuel costs after the visit.

However, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan denied on Saturday much of what US President Joe Biden remarked, most notably about increasing oil production.

Oil production was not discussed at the summit. “There was no oil discussion at the summit,” he said, asserting that Riyadh will do everything necessary to balance out the oil market and that OPEC+ will continue to assess the conditions and do whatever is necessary.

WSJ said in a report, on Saturday, that “for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, his high-profile meeting with President Biden was an instant success, signaling that his isolation on the global stage has ended."

But the world will have to wait weeks, if not months before the American President knows whether his trip to the Middle East was worthwhile, it added.

Returning home empty-handed

The same report stressed that Biden’s goal was to reaffirm the United States' ties with an oil-rich region, following a rift with Saudi leaders after Biden criticized the country for human rights violations, calling it a "pariah" state, and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

However, Biden is returning to Washington without a commitment from the Saudis to increase oil production further, and several other policy announcements touted by the White House were either incremental or lacked specificity as per WSJ.

On his account, senior vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a Washington think tank critical of Iran Jonathan Schanzer said, “Biden is playing the long game,” adding that “he’s thinking about luring the Saudis away from China. He’s obviously thinking about oil in the medium to long term. Also, if the Saudis and Israelis make peace, he wants to be part of that.”

Following his meeting with MBS, Biden stated that he is confident that Saudi officials will support an increased oil supply in the coming weeks. However, Saudi officials tempered expectations, only stating that the Kingdom would do whatever was necessary to balance the market if there was a supply shortage.

If the meeting results in little movement on energy from the Saudis, Biden may face criticism at home, where he is already dealing with low approval ratings, high prices, and party frustration over his stalled legislative agenda and the Supreme Court's ruling overturning abortion rights.

It is worth noting that Biden is the latest world leader to visit MBS after years of keeping him at arm's length over Khashoggi's murder. Is the "pariah" state no longer a "pariah"?