NEW YORK — In advance of his upcoming trip to the Middle East, President Biden published an article in the Washington Post detailing his achievements in the region and what he hopes to attain from the trip.
Biden stressed the importance of the Middle East for the global economy, due both to its strategic waterways and high concentration of energy resources, which are even more important in the wake of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
The President promises to “pursue diplomacy intensely” to promote American goals. Biden described the success of his diplomatic efforts in the region during the course of his presidency. Regarding Israel, he maintained that US diplomacy had terminated the 2021 Guardian of the Walls campaign “in just 11 days”.
“We’ve worked with Israel, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan to maintain the peace without permitting terrorists to rearm. We also rebuilt U.S. ties with the Palestinians. Working with Congress, my administration restored approximately $500 million in support for Palestinians, while also passing the largest support package for Israel — over $4 billion — in history. And this week, an Israeli prime minister spoke with the president of the Palestinian Authority for the first time in five years,” Biden wrote.
As for Saudi Arabia, Biden says he changed the “blank-check” policy of former president Trump and adopted a policy which engages with the Saudis while demanding punishment for human rights abuses in the country. “My administration has made clear that the United States will not tolerate extraterritorial threats and harassment against dissidents and activists by any government,” Biden added, noting that the administration had worked to assist Americans wrongfully detained in Saudi Arabia.
On the topic of developing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, the president wrote that “On Friday, I will be the first president to fly from Israel to Jiddah, Saudi Arabia. That travel will also be a small symbol of the budding relations and steps toward normalization between Israel and the Arab world, which my administration is working to deepen and expand. In Jiddah, leaders from across the region will gather, pointing to the possibility of a more stable and integrated Middle East, with the United States playing a vital leadership role.”
Biden concluded by stating that “Next week, I will be the first president to visit the Middle East since 9/11 without U.S. troops engaged in a combat mission there. It’s my aim to keep it that way.”
As reported by Vos Iz Neias