What are your plans?, US high-ranking officials visit Saudi President consecutively | Saudi Arabia | United States

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Saudi Arabia from June 6 to 8. This is the second senior US official to visit Saudi Arabia within a month, following US National Security Assistant Sullivan.

The traditional allies of the United States and Saudi Arabia are constantly at odds, with a deepening sense of distrust. The so-called "broken mirror is difficult to reunite" - even US President Biden himself failed to make up for it. Can Sullivan and Antony Blinken handle it? The current situation of relations with Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia is like a mirror, and the United States should take a good look at it.

Continuous sand visits to repair relationships

According to the US State Department, besides discussing bilateral, regional and international affairs with Saudi Arabia, Antony Blinken will also attend the ministerial meeting of the US Gulf Arab States Cooperation Council. In addition, combating the extremist organization ISIS, the armed conflict in Sudan, and the Yemen issue are also on the agenda.

Antony Blinken's visit also tried to play the role of "intermediary" for the transformation of Saudi Arabia's "brother" Israel relations with the United States. The day before the visit, Antony Blinken vowed at the meeting of the US Israel Public Affairs Committee that "promoting the normalization of Israel Saudi relations can bring tangible national security interests to the United States", and the United States must play an indispensable role.

Ambition is not small, there are many things to talk about, but the real purpose is only one. As Daniel Beinem, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Arab Peninsula Affairs of the United States State Department, said, Antony Blinken undoubtedly wanted to take this visit to convey a signal that "the United States will continue to stay in the Middle East" and "will not leave a vacuum for other rivals to fill".

This visit may not have a breakthrough

Saudi political analyst Ahmad Ibrahim pointed out that although it cannot be said that Saudi American relations have reached a bottom, the differences between the two countries are clearly significant.

Not to mention Sullivan and Antony Blinken, even US President Biden himself visited Saudi Arabia last year, and the effect was really embarrassing. Biden once "taught Saudi Arabia a lesson" on human rights issues and claimed to make Saudi Arabia "pay the price" and be isolated. As a result, during his visit to Saudi Arabia, Biden attempted to start a conversation about human rights in front of the young Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed, but was instead "taught" by the other party using the US military black prison incident as an example.

This is the news center of the headquarters of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, filmed on October 5, 2022 in the Austrian capital Vienna. Shen Jizhong

In addition, the US and Saudi Arabia have also had issues with real gold and silver.

An article in Saudi Arabia's Oqaz newspaper pointed out that Antony Blinken wanted to discuss economic and regional security issues with Saudi Arabia, but these American concerns are no longer Saudi Arabia's priority, and the link between the United States and Saudi Arabia to "exchange security for oil" has disappeared.

After the escalation of the Ukraine crisis in February last year, according to US media reports, leaders of Saudi Arabia and other countries "rejected" calls from Biden urging increased oil production to stabilize oil prices. In October last year, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, and non OPEC oil producing countries also announced a significant production reduction plan.

OPEC and non OPEC oil producing countries extended their production reduction agreement until 2024 on June 4th. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia announced a unilateral additional production reduction in July. If this approach continues to push up oil prices, it may not be good news for Biden, who is seeking re-election.

The era of "extreme dominance" has come to an end

Analysts point out that in recent years, the United States has strategically shrunk from the Middle East, reduced investment in the region, and overall improvement in regional security, leading to a decrease in dependence on the United States by countries represented by Saudi Arabia.

What is particularly gratifying is the recent wave of reconciliation in the Middle East - Saudi Arabia's resumption of diplomatic relations with Iran, Saudi Arabia breaking the ice with Syria, which is hostile to the United States, and Syria's return to the League of Arab States. These are good news, but the attitude of the United States is gloomy and even publicly criticized repeatedly. In short, they are unwilling to accept the new reality that is inconvenient for them to continue interfering and causing trouble.

On May 19th, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammad shook hands with Syrian President Bashar at a welcome ceremony before the summit. Shen Jizhong

Gregory Gauss, a professor of international affairs at Texas A&M University in the United States, said, "The era of extreme dominance in the United States has come to an end. Saudis understand this and find themselves with other options."

Saudi political analyst Ibrahim believes that currently, not only has China's relationship with Saudi Arabia developed rapidly, but China's important position as a strategic partner of the Gulf Cooperation Council is becoming increasingly prominent. Such important changes are also noteworthy.