Joe Biden, speaking at a summit of Arab leaders, said on Saturday that the United States “will not walk away” from the Middle East, as the US tries to ensure stability in a volatile part of the world and boost the global flow of oil to reverse rising gas prices.
The president also announced $1bn in US funding to relieve hunger in the region.
His remarks, delivered at the Gulf Cooperation Council on the final leg of a four-day Middle East tour, came amid concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and support for militants in the region.
“We will not walk away and leave a vacuum to be filled by China, Russia or Iran,” Biden said. “We will seek to build on this moment with active, principled, American leadership.”
Although US forces continue to target terrorists in the region and remain deployed at bases throughout the Middle East, Biden suggested he was turning a page after the US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Today, I’m proud to be able to say that the era of land wars in the region, wars that involved huge numbers of American forces, is not under way,” he said.
He pressed his counterparts, many of whom lead repressive governments, to ensure human rights – including for women – and allow their citizens to speak openly.
“The future will be won by the countries that unleash the full potential of their populations,” Biden said, and that includes allowing people to “question and criticize leaders without fear of reprisal”.
Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, convened the summit, which gave him an opportunity to showcase his country’s heavyweight role in the Middle East. He also hinted that the kingdom could pump more oil than it is currently, something Biden is hoping to see when an existing production deal among OPEC+ member countries expires in September.
Biden’s attendance at the summit followed his Friday meeting with the Saudi prince, heir to the throne currently held by his father, King Salman.
The 79-year-old Biden had initially shunned the 36-year-old royal over human rights abuses, particularly the killing of US-based writer Jamal Khashoggi, which US intelligence officials believe was likely approved by the prince.
But Biden decided he needed to repair the longstanding relationship between the two countries to address rising gas prices and foster stability in the volatile region.
“It is only becoming clearer to me how closely interwoven America’s interests are with the successes of the Middle East,” the president said Saturday. Ending his speech on a hopeful note, Biden expressed his belief in cooperation among the nations.
“This is a table full of problem-solvers,” he said. “There’s a lot of good we can do if we do it together.”
After a lunch with other leaders, Biden began his trip back to Washington, flashing a thumbs up and waving to reporters as he boarded Air Force One.
Earlier, Biden met individually with the leaders of Iraq, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, some of whom he had never sat down with since taking office in January 2021.
He invited Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who became president of the UAE two months ago, to visit the White House this year.
Biden also met with King Abdullah of Jordan. The White House later announced that the US was extending and expanding financial assistance to the country, to no less than $1.45bn per year.
The summit in the Red Sea port city 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 imagery indicating that Russian officials visited Iran in June and July to see weapons-capable drones it is looking to acquire for use in Ukraine. The disclosure appeared aimed at drawing a connection between the war in Europe and Arab leaders’ own concerns about Iran.
So far, none of the countries represented at the summit has moved in lockstep with the US to sanction Russia, a foreign policy priority for the Biden administration. If anything, the UAE has emerged as a sort of financial haven for Russian billionaires and their multimillion-dollar yachts. Egypt remains open to Russian tourists.
Meantime, there are sharp divisions on foreign policy among the nine Middle East heads of state who attended the summit.
For example, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE are trying to isolate and squeeze Iran over its regional reach and proxies. Oman and Qatar have solid 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 Iran’s nuclear accord. Iran not only shares a huge underwater gas field with Qatar in the Persian Gulf, but it also rushed to Qatar’s aid when Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut off ties and imposed a years-long embargo on Qatar that ended shortly before Biden took office.
Biden’s actions have frustrated some of the leaders. Although the US has played an important role in encouraging a months-long cease-fire in Yemen, his decision to reverse a Trump White House move that had listed Yemen’s rebel Houthis as a terrorist group has outraged the Emirati and Saudi leadership.
Saudi news outlet Al-Arabiya reported on Saturday that students were protesting in Tehran over Biden’s meeting with Israel leaders in Tel Aviv as part of his trip. Protesters burned the American and Israeli flag, opposing the normalization of relations with Israel.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
