Saudi Arabia gave a "downward pressure" first!, The Antony Blinken people have not yet arrived in the United States | Strategy | Demobilization
The US State Department announced on the 2nd that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will visit Saudi Arabia from the 6th to the 8th to discuss the "strategic cooperation" between the two countries.
This data photo taken on April 7, 2022 shows that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken attended the NATO Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Brussels, Belgium. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zheng Huansong
Analysts said that Antony Blinken's visit sought to repair the bilateral relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia, and tried to promote the normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, but it was difficult to make a breakthrough.
The US State Department said in a brief press release that Antony Blinken's visit to Saudi Arabia from the 6th to the 8th will discuss "strategic cooperation in regional and global affairs" between the US and Saudi Arabia, as well as a series of bilateral affairs, including economic and security cooperation.
During his visit, Antony Blinken will attend the ministerial meeting of the United States Gulf Arab States Cooperation Council to discuss cooperation between the United States and GCC countries in security, stability, economy and other aspects of the Middle East. In addition, combating the extremist organization "Islamic State" was also the topic of Antony Blinken's visit.
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Antony Blinken is the second US senior official to visit Saudi Arabia within a month after Jack Sullivan, the assistant to the US president for national security affairs in early May. Reuters said that the differences and suspicions between the United States and Saudi Arabia have deepened in recent years, and the US hopes to stabilize its relationship with Saudi Arabia through visits.
This is the city view of Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, captured on December 6, 2022. Photo by Sui Xiankai, journalist from Xinhua News Agency
According to Agence France Presse, the United States' criticism of Saudi Arabia on human rights issues has led to strained relations between the two countries. President Joseph Biden's recent visit to Saudi Arabia nearly a year ago and Sullivan's recent visit have had limited impact on improving bilateral relations.
On the other hand, after the escalation of the Ukraine crisis, Saudi Arabia refused to take sides and did not comply with the US's demand to lower crude oil prices. Instead, it decided to reduce production, causing displeasure from the US.
Reuters commented that the long-term pillar of US Saudi relations, the role of "oil for security," is weakening. Gregory Gauss, a professor of international affairs at Texas A&M University in the United States, said that during the Cold War, the United States' major strategic initiatives could gain significant support from Saudi Arabia. "After the end of the Cold War, Saudi Arabia had little choice. But now, the period of extreme US dominance is basically over, and the Saudis understand that they have other options.".
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There has been a recent wave of reconciliation in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia's resumption of diplomatic relations with Iran, reconciliation with Syria, which is hostile to the United States, and the resumption of diplomatic relations that have been suspended for over a decade; Syria has also returned to the League of Arab States.
On the 2nd, Daniel Benem, Deputy Secretary of State for the Arabian Peninsula, stated at a briefing that the United States needs to ensure that "the region understands that the United States plays an important role in the region" and will continue to stay in the region.
Reuters believes that the United States is unlikely to achieve this goal in the short term in order to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. US Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs, Barbara Lev, said in Congress this week that it is expected that Saudi Arabia and Israel will only gradually open up. A Gulf country official who declined to be named told Reuters that normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel would be "very difficult".
Just before Antony Blinken's visit, the latest "OPEC+" oil production policy was announced in the early morning of June 5, Beijing time. According to the meeting results, the current production reduction agreement of OPEC+, which will expire at the end of this year, has been extended until the end of 2024. Based on this, OPEC+has also decided to reduce collective daily production by 1.4 million barrels starting from January 2024. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia voluntarily lowered its daily crude oil production by 1 million barrels in July this year, to 9 million barrels per day, which will be the lowest level since June 2021. Saudi Arabia has stated that to ensure the stability of the oil market, the additional production reduction in July may be extended.