US not to leave 'vacuum' for strategic foes in Middle East: State Dpt.

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
2 Jun 2023 23:25

This comes ahead of an upcoming visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Saudi Arabia scheduled on June 6-8.

In this Aug. 20, 2017 file photo, US soldiers stand next to a guided-missile launcher in the village of Abu Ghaddur, east of Tal Afar, Iraq (AFP)

US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Arabian Peninsula Affairs Daniel Benaim said on Friday that the US will seek to maintain a presence in the Middle East so as to not leave a vacuum that would enable strategic competitors to fill.

"We will not leave a vacuum for our strategic competitors in this region," Benaim said during a press briefing.

This comes ahead of a forthcoming visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Saudi Arabia scheduled on June 6-8. Blinken is due to meet and discuss with Saudi officials a range of regional and global matters.

Blinken is also due to take part in a US-Gulf Cooperation Council ministerial meeting, as well as a ministerial meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat the Islamic State terror group.

Several non-member Central Asian states are due to attend the coalition, according to Deputy Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Ian McCary.

Benaim noted during his briefing that the US works with Saudi Arabia on issues pertaining to China and Russia and that the Biden administration seeks to offer better solutions for the region instead of forcing countries to choose between the US and its competitors.

Earlier in the day, Sputnik reported that several countries have expressed an interest in joining the BRICS association, including Iran, Venezuela, and interestingly Saudi Arabia too.

The implications for Saudi Arabia to abandon the dollar would possibly be disastrous to the US economy as the US relies on the petrodollar to thrive its own currency and safeguard it as the world medium of savings in addition to world means of exchange.

In efforts to de-dollarize global trade, BRICS members have initiated talks about the possibility of forming an alternative global currency that would challenge the US dollar.

Russia's State Duma Deputy Chairman Alexander Babakov said the possibility of an alternative currency could be backed not just by gold, but also by other groups of products, such as rare-earth elements.