Biden Invites 110 Countries to Virtual Summit on Democracy

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US President Joe Biden has invited the leaders of about 110 countries to participate in a virtual Summit for Democracy" to be organized on December 9 and 10 ahead of an in-person meeting at its second edition next year.

The US State Department published Tuesday a list of the countries, which only included Iraq and "Israel" from the Middle East.

Unsurprisingly, Biden did not invite the US two main rivals, Russia and China, to the summit.

Turkey too was excluded from the summit. Biden had previously described the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as an "autocrat".

In addition, the US President did not invite any of his country's traditional Arab allies such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, and the UAE.

On the other hand, Biden invited Taiwan, in a move that will anger Beijing that considers the island an integral part of its territory.

China expressed Wednesday its strong opposition to Taiwan's invitation to attend the US summit.

China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters that the "US actions only go to show democracy is just a cover and a tool for it to advance its geopolitical objectives, oppress other countries, divide the world and serve its own interests."

The US invitation to Taiwan comes at a time when China is calling on countries to reduce relations with the island, which Beijing says "is an inalienable part of China's territory," while Taiwan says Beijing has no right to speak for it.

Observers believe the 'Summit for Democracy' is a test for Biden's claim made in February that he will return the US to global leadership ahead of China and Russia.

China had told Washington to cautiously handle the Taiwan matter after President Biden affirmed the US would defend Taiwan from any possible attack from Beijing.