Russia seeking oil payments from India in UAE dirhams

Russia is seeking payment in United Arab Emirates dirhams for oil exports to some Indian customers, three sources said and a document showed, as Moscow moves away from the US dollar to insulate itself from the effects of Western sanctions.

Russia has been hit by a slew of sanctions from the United States and its allies over its invasion of Ukraine in late February, which it terms a "special military operation".

Russian oil major Rosneft is pushing crude through trading firms including Everest Energy and Coral Energy into India, now its second biggest oil buyer after China.

Western sanctions have prompted many oil importers to shun Moscow, pushing spot prices for Russian crude to record discounts against other grades.

That provided Indian refiners, which rarely bought Russian oil due to high freight costs, an opportunity to snap up exports at hefty discounts to Brent and Middle East staples.

Moscow replaced Saudi Arabia as the second biggest oil supplier to India after Iraq for the second month in a row in June.

At least two Indian refiners have already settled some payments in dirhams, the sources said, adding more would make such payments in coming days.

The United Arab Emirates, seeking to maintain what it says is a neutral position, has not imposed sanctions on Moscow, and the payments could add to the frustration of some in the West, who privately say the UAE's position is untenable and siding with Russia.

The trading firms used by Rosneft have started asking for the dollar equivalent payment in dirhams from this month, the sources said.

Russia wants to increase its use of non-Western currencies for trade with countries such as India, its foreign minister Sergi Lavrov said in April.

The country's finance minister last month also said Moscow may start buying currencies of "friendly" countries, using such holdings to influence the exchange rate of the dollar and euro as a means of countering sharp gains in the rouble.

The Moscow currency exchange is preparing to launch trading in the Uzbek sum and the dirham.

Dubai, the Gulf's financial and business centre, has emerged as a refuge for Russian wealth.

India, also maintaining a neutral position, recognizes insurance cover by Russian companies and has offered classification to ships managed by a Dubai-based subsidiary of Moscow's top shipping group to enable trade.

India's central bank last week introduced a new mechanism for international trade settlements in rupees, which many experts see as a way to promote trade with countries that are under Western sanctions, such as Russia and Iran.

 

Can Iraqi mediation bring Saudi Arabia and Iran closer?

According to a report by Saudi Gazette, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi paid a visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, during which he met Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. The visit was followed by another visit to the Iranian capital Tehran, during which he met senior Iranian officials of that country.

What emerged from these two visits was an attempt of mediation to ease the atmosphere and reduce tension in the region, through dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

There has been no halt for the Iraqi attempts of mediation over the past few years, especially after the assumption of office by Al-Kadhimi as prime minister of the country. Al-Kadhimi is a respectable leader for Saudi Arabia, as the Kingdom sees him as a patriotic figure who works sincerely to resolve the huge crises that are afflicting Iraq.

The Iraqi viewpoint is that crises in inter-regional relations produce negative impact on Iraq internally. The more the region moves towards resolving crises and easing tension, the more this gives a comfortable ground for rulers in Mesopotamia.

It is true that the crises in Iraq are structural and it is very difficult to overcome most of these without understanding all the crises in their entirety. There is a possibility to mitigate the impact of these dilemmas, and perhaps the most important of them is the security dilemma.

It is ironic that Saudi Arabia, in its understanding and approach, is betting on Iran, which is striving to be a national state, and this is a major point of contention with Iran. The latter is betting on pre-state groups, and even supports them through illegal channels far from what is supposed to be from a national state, whether the militias in Iraq, the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon and others.

Restoring the national state will not be an easy matter after years of tampering with the social fabric in the countries of the region, which negatively affected the security and stability of the entire region.

It goes without saying that restoration of the state’s presence and roles through internal dialogue and negotiations and by stopping states from interfering in the internal affairs of other states, all of this would contribute to averting these states and the entire region from bloodshed.

Saudi Arabia spares no effort in extending the hand of dialogue to all who want to reach to this end, despite the pile up of discouraging experiences in terms of dialogue.

A point of concern is the arms race that Tehran wants to launch. It will not serve anyone, and it will cause serious consequences for Iran itself. Here we are talking about two aspects: The first is the nuclear program and the anxiety it causes to countries in the region and the lack of confidence in Iranian promises, especially with the increase in the enrichment rate and the secret aspects that Iran seeks to hide.

The second aspect is the program of drones and ballistic missiles that pose a serious threat to the entire region, and in this also there is a threat to the arms race that has already begun.

Serious dialogue to reach a security system can be a window not to resolve crises, as we all wish, but at least to manage them. As for the idea of dialogue for the sake of image, it will not work as the region had tried it during the past decades, a dialogue that results in smiles in front of cameras but fears remain.

What is worst is that Tehran is using this dialogue to continue its troubling policies, all of which will not be useful.

Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, continues its efforts in the region to restore stability, avoid tension, and defuse crises whenever it is possible.

Pakistan: Little has changed in 75 years

Thanks to Facebook for reminding me of one of my blogs titled “Ruling Elites of Pakistan” posted on July 24, 2015. I am sure as the readers go through, they may find it very current. The situation hasn’t improved in Pakistan in the last seventy five years. Thanks to the morons adamant at maintaining the status quo.

In the recent past I got a unique opportunity to talk to the students of various business schools. The topic of my presentation was “Pakistan: Opportunities, Challenges and threats”. The consensus arrived at was that the country offers enormous opportunities but people in general and investors in particular suffer from ‘confidence deficit’.

Peeping into the history reveals that the country has been ruled by those having common vested interest and most of the sitting/past members of Senate, National and Provincial Assemblies could be labeled ‘turn coats’. They change loyalty because they wish to remain part of ruling junta, be it democratic or autocratic rule.

 The younger generation continues to suffer from illusion because of mudslinging by the leading political parties i.e. PML-N, PPP, MQM and PTI. Some claim to be opposition parties but have been part of ruling junta for decades. The incumbent prime minister and chief mister of Punjab are the legacy of a ‘Military Dictator, Zia ul- Hq. PTI has formed government in KPK province after 2013 election and is in fact part of ruling junta. MQM has remain in power for considerably long time

Some critics say the country is a victim of geopolitics because super powers install and dislodge rulers in Pakistan to pursue their ‘expansionism’ and politics prove to be ‘loyal than king’. Starting from Liaquat Ali Khan to Nawaz Sharif all the rulers have been towing the US foreign policy for the region.

Ayub Khan’s ten year rule was due to Pakistan’s assigned role in ‘cold war’. For ten years Zia ul Haq fought the US proxy war in Afghanistan to avert USSR attack on the country and frustrate its attempt to get access to ‘warm waters’ that also led to installation of Taliban government  there. When the status of Taliban turned to foe from friend the crusade against them was led by Pervez Musharraf. Asif Zardari did the same and Nawaz Sharif also seems to be following his footsteps.

People believed that PTI would usher a change but forgot that the same old faces control its hierarchy and political agenda. The only inspiration of its chief is to become the next prime minister of Pakistan. Though the decision of Judicial Commission is out, the perception prevails that elections were engineered to create history by making Nawaz Saharif prime minister of Pakistan for the third time.

Many term hanging of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto ‘judicial murder’ and the mystery surrounding assassination of  Benazir Bhutto and earlier dismissal of her government twice pre-maturely raises many question. Many critics find some similarity in killing of Mr. Aquino and his wife becoming president of Philippines and Benazir’s widower becoming president of Pakistan after her assassination, the strings in both the cases were moved from outside.

Decades of participation in the proxy war has proliferated political uncertainty, religious fanaticism, arms and drug trade. On top of all funding of local terrorist, be it in the name of creation of supremacy of Shariah or fighting for the deprived has resulted in assignation and destruction of civilian and military installations.

Some experts say all this is part of a great plan to keep Pakistan dependent on multilateral donors i.e. International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Asian Development Bank and even Islamic Development Bank. Keeping the country dependent on these institutions that are arms of super powers makes it easier to rein Pakistan. It is difficult to bring any change in the country without changing the mindset of masses.

 

West must stop its unconditional support for Zelensky

Amid the Russia-Ukraine war, Nato and the  European Union offer a perfect example of a type of “war communication”. In terms of censorship, disinformation and propaganda, the world is witnessing a replay of the happenings during the Gulf War and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The only voices authorized to speak are those giving the official party line, Nato spokespersons, retired officers converted to the lucrative business of security consulting, geopolitical experts (those who stick to the script), Russia’s political opponents, Ukrainian deputies and other allies of President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The mythification of Zelensky has reached absurdist levels, partly by the acting talents of Zelensky, a professional comedian who has shrewdly seized the moment to radically rebrand himself as a symbol of resistance, freedom and democracy.

Zelensky is a populist demagogue and a manipulator; an autocrat at the head of a regime that can best be described as proto-fascist.

With his demagogic cry of “the people against the elites”, his rudimentary electoral program, his false promises to fight corruption that were forgotten as soon as he was elected, and his brutal authoritarian leanings, Zelensky is a perfect example of western populism.

The Kyiv regime also exhibits a growing number of proto-fascistic characteristics: the cult of the personality, which turns the head of state into a venerated and untouchable figure; the militarization of society; the saturation of media and cultural spaces with war propaganda.

Before the war, western media were recognizing the reality of that problem - but as soon as the war started, these groups were magically whitewashed as freedom fighters, and praised as heroic resistors through typical spin. Anyone who now raises the issue is immediately accused of disseminating Putin’s propaganda or being an agent of the Kremlin. 

Even more shocking, yet typical of war propaganda, has been the systematic censorship by dominant western media of any information that would undermine the Zelensky worship and unconditional support for the Kyiv regime. 

In a March presidential decree, Zelensky banned the opposition by suspending the activities of 11 political parties accused of having links with Russia. Thus, the invasion was used in the most cynical manner as a convenient excuse to crack down on political opposition through false rhetoric about collaboration with the enemy. 

Zelensky also invoked the war to eliminate media freedom by merging and nationalizing Ukrainian television channels into a single information platform called “United News” - a platform entirely dedicated to his propaganda.

Zelensky regime is controlled by the most hawkish and extremist escalationists, both Ukrainian and foreign, starting with US President Joe Biden, who has been shunting aside any talk of diplomatic negotiations.

Though at first willing to negotiate and compromise, Zelensky has since fallen in line with the most extremist war hawks, none of whom appear to care about the rest of Europe, which they view merely as something to exploit for more arms and money.

Instead of being emboldened in this reckless military escalation of a war that is devastating his own population and country, Zelensky should instead be pushed towards the negotiating table - for his own sake, that of his suffering people, and the good of the world, which is now itself suffering from a slew of setbacks: inflation, energy and food shortages, and a military-industrial complex ecstatic at the prospect of having trillions of dollars redirected towards it for years to come. A deal to end the war seems feasible, as there a reasonable peace plan on the table. 

In additional to all its other consequences, the Russian invasion has further fractured the US-led post-war global order, which has become a battleground between the ever-more hawkish and imperialistic US, backed by the EU and with the instrumentalization of institutions such as Nato and the G7; and the anti-western bloc led by China and Russia, now officially designated as the West’s two main geopolitical existential threats. 

Given the heavy dependence of Middle East on all involved parties - Russia, Ukraine and the West - for food and energy supplies, as well as national security, they know they have nothing to gain but a lot to lose from direct involvement in this conflict, or from overtly picking sides. They have thus uncomfortably strived to distance themselves from the war without alienating anyone - a tough balancing act that can see them accused of siding with the enemy for shying away from the western sanctions regime.

In fact, many have actively refused to side with Ukraine and the West against Russia for a number of reasons, including perceived western hypocrisy on the professed principle of non-aggression and respect for territorial sovereignty (Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan loom large here); racist double standards on the treatment of refugees; and widespread distrust of the West in general.

Biden leaves Saudi Arabia empty-handed

Joe Biden has left the region empty-handed hoping the OPEC+ group, comprising Saudi Arabia, Russia and other producers, will boost production at a meeting scheduled for August 03, 2022.

Gulf states, which have refused to side with the West against Russia over Ukraine, are seeking a concrete commitment from the United States to strategic ties that have been strained over perceived US disengagement from the region.

President Joe Biden told Arab leaders on Saturday that the United States would remain an active partner in the Middle East, but he failed to secure commitments to a regional security axis that would include Israel or an immediate oil output rise.

Biden, who began his first trip to the Middle East as president with a visit to Israel, presented his vision and strategy for America's engagement in the Middle East at an Arab summit in Jeddah.

The summit communiqué was vague, however, and Saudi Arabia, Washington's most important Arab ally, poured cold water on US hopes the summit could help lay the groundwork for a regional security alliance - including Israel - to combat Iranian threats.

A plan to connect air defence systems could be a hard sell for Arab states that have no ties with Israel and balk at being part of an alliance seen as against Iran, which has a strong regional network of proxies including Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, said he was not aware of any discussions on a Gulf-Israeli defence alliance and that the kingdom was not involved in such talks.

He told reporters after the US-Arab summit that Riyadh's decision to open its airspace to all air carriers had nothing to do with establishing diplomatic ties with Israel and was not a precursor to further steps.

Biden focused on the summit with six Gulf states and Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, while downplaying the meeting with MbS which drew criticism in the United States over human rights concerns.

Biden needs the help of OPEC giant Saudi Arabia at a time of high crude prices and other problems related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Washington also wants to curb Iran's sway in the region and China's global influence.

Biden came to Saudi Arabia hoping to reach a deal on oil production to help drive down gasoline prices that are driving inflation above 40-year highs and threatening his approval ratings.

He leaves the region empty-handed but hoping the OPEC+ group, comprising Saudi Arabia, Russia and other producers, will boost production at a meeting on Aug. 3.

Gulf states, which have refused to side with the West against Russia over Ukraine, are seeking a concrete commitment from the United States to strategic ties that have been strained over perceived US disengagement from the region.

Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have been frustrated by US conditions on arms sales and at their exclusion from indirect US-Iran talks on reviving a 2015 nuclear pact they see as flawed for not tackling concerns about Iran's missile program and behaviour.

Israel had encouraged Biden's trip to Saudi Arabia, hoping it would lead to warmer ties between it and Riyadh as part of a wider Arab rapprochement.

 

 

United States extends undue favor to India

The US House of Representative has passed a legislative amendment that would protect India from punitive sanctions for buying missiles from Russia.

The India-specific amendment, passed on Thursday afternoon, still has to go through the Senate before it’s signed by President Joe Biden.

Authored and introduced by Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna, urges the Biden administration to give India a waiver to the Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which can bring immediate sanctions against New Delhi for buying weapons from Moscow.

The amendment argues that such a waiver is needed to deter China’s influence in the region. It was passed by voice vote as part of an en bloc amendment during floor consideration of the US defence bill for 2023.

US law deems waiver ‘necessary’ to counter China’s growing global influence

The United States views India as a key ally in its effort to counter China’s growing global influence and has also included it in the alliance known as ‘Quad’ that aims to counter China in the Pacific region.

Enacted by the US Congress in 2017, CAATSA provides for punitive actions against any country engaged in transactions with Russian defence and intelligence sectors.

CAATSA became a sticking point in India-US ties after New Delhi inked a deal to secure the S-400 missile defence system from Moscow, in the midst of the Russia-Ukraine war. India has also violated US sanctions on buying oil from Russia.

In May, Senator Bob Menendez, who heads the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, pointed out at a congressional hearing that the Indians “go buy oil from Russia. They buy the S-400 anti-missile system. They abstain at the United Nations on votes criticizing Russia and yet they were never punished for these violations.

Khanna, who is Vice Chair of the India Caucus in the US Congress, however, urged Washington to “stand with India in the face of escalating aggression from China”.

The Reuters news agency reported this week that India’s oil imports from Russia surged to a record of around 950,000 barrels per day (bpd) in June, as Indian refiners snapped up Russian oil sold at hefty discounts.

India shipped in about 4.8 million bpd of oil in June, about 23 per cent higher than a year earlier, the report added.

What is more important for Biden? Saudi oil or Khashoggi

The Washington Post’s publisher blasted President Biden for greeting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with a fist bump Friday, saying it not only “projected intimacy and comfort” but also gave the Middle East leader “redemption.”

Fred Ryan, the publisher and CEO of The Washington Post, called the exchange between the two leaders at the royal palace in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, “shameful.”

“The first bump between President Biden and Mohammed bin Salman was worse than a handshake — it was shameful. It projected a level of intimacy and comfort that delivers to MBS the unwarranted redemption he was been desperately seeking,” Ryan said in a statement, using a common media abbreviation for the crown prince’s name.

Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia has been heavily criticized, including his meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed, who the US intelligence community said approved the 2018 murder of US-based journalist and Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi.  

The Post also reported that Saudi officials had initially excluded two reporters from the newspaper from a planned media briefing that the government was holding on Friday.

They were later allowed to attend the roundtable after bringing up the issue with the White House officials, the Post added.

This is Biden’s first visit to Saudi Arabia after he was elected in 2020 and comes after he promised during his presidential campaign to make the Middle East country a “pariah” state over Khashoggi’s murder in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

Biden highlighted progress in moving relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel toward normalization and said the US and Saudi Arabia agreed to partner on a far-reaching green energy initiative.

Biden also expressed optimism that Saudi Arabia would take steps to boost the global oil supply in the coming weeks, which had been viewed as a major goal of the trip given high domestic gas prices and the disruption of the global energy market caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The trip to the Middle East, Biden said, was about reasserting US leadership in the region at a time when China and Russia are trying to expand their influence and challenge global order.

 

Biden said Friday he raised Khashoggi’s murder during his meeting with the crown prince after the White House wouldn’t comment on whether the president would raise the journalist’s death in the meeting. 

“I raised it at the top of the meeting, making it clear what I thought of it at the time and what I think of it now,” Biden said in a speech.

 “We are not going to leave a vacuum in the Middle East for Russia or China to fill, and we’re getting results,” Biden said.  

Significance of simultaneous visits of Biden and Putin to West Asia

Simultaneous visits of the presidents of the United States and Russia to the West Asia region signifies East-West confrontation.

Mohammad Hossein Soltanifard, Head of the office representing Iran’s interests in Cairo, said his country is the central part of any equation in the region.

Biden started a 4-day visit to Israel and Saudi Arabia from July 13, 2022. Putin is scheduled to visit Iran on July 19. 2022. Putin will attend a trilateral meeting with the leaders of Iran and Turkey, the so-called Astana format of meetings for Syria-related talks.

Putin's visit to Iran immediately after Biden’s trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia “evokes, once again, the East-West confrontation,” Soltanifard said on Twitter.

Soltanifard added, “Iran will still be the bridge of victory, with the difference that the Islamic Republic of Iran is considered the main part of any equation in the region at this point.”

Soltanifard has been appointed as the representative of Iran’s interests in Egypt recently. He replaced Nasser Kanaani, who is now the spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry. Soltanifard reached Cairo on July 11.

Earlier, he also praised Cairo's position in opposing the American project to establish an alliance against the Islamic Republic of Iran. “Egypt's opposition to the illusory dream of the United States to create an alliance against the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of the silence of other countries participating in the Jeddah Summit is commendable and understandable.,” he said on Twitter.

He added, “And this project, like the project to create the Greater Middle East and the deal of the century, will be born dead, God willing.”

Iran and Egypt have held a high-level meeting in recent weeks and have agreed to boost their relations, according to a Qatari-owned newspaper.

Citing Egyptian diplomatic sources, Al Araby Al Jadeed said new developments have taken place in the relations between Tehran and Cairo ahead of a mid-July visit by US President Joe Biden to the region.

“A high-level meeting, which took place during the recent visit of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to the Sultanate of Oman, brought together Egyptian and Iranian officials,” the sources told Al Araby Al Jadeed in early July.

They added that the meeting was attended by a high-ranking figure from the delegation accompanying the Egyptian president with Omani coordination.

The sources indicated that the meeting “was of a security nature in general, and touched upon the situation in the Gaza Strip and Syria,” adding “there were many points of agreement between the two parties, and that the coming period may witness direct coordination between Cairo and Tehran on issues and matters related to the Strip.”

According to the sources, “during the meeting, an agreement was reached on joint coordination in international forums, as long as that was possible, in light of the desire of Cairo and Tehran to reach a good level of relations, provided that they would gradually improve, according to the developments of events in the region.”

In his visit to Oman, the Egyptian President was accompanied by Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Chief of General Intelligence Abbas Kamel, Minister of Planning Hala Saeed, and a number of other officials.
 

 

Biden makes history with first direct presidential flight from Israel to Saudi Arabia

President Joe Biden on Friday became the first sitting US President to fly directly from Israel to Saudi Arabia, a historic trip that the White House cited as evidence of warming ties between the two countries. 

“Welcome aboard our historic flight,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One as the plane made its way from Tel Aviv to Jeddah. 

Israel Prime Minister Yair Lapid, Israeli President Isaac Herzog and US Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides sent Biden off at Ben Gurion Airport.  

Biden landed about two hours later at King Abdulaziz International Airport.  

Friday’s flight was preceded by the news that Saudi Arabia would open its airspace to all airlines, including all commercial flights flying to and from Israel. Reports indicate the new policy could pave the way for direct flights from Israel to Saudi Arabia for Muslims to make pilgrimages to Mecca.  

The development, while well short of a full normalization of relations between the two countries, represented a step forward and a win for Biden. Jean-Pierre characterized it as a result of Biden’s persistent diplomacy with Saudi Arabia.  

“As we mark this important moment, Saudi Arabia’s decision can help build momentum toward Israel’s further integration into the region, including with Saudi Arabia,” Biden said in a statement earlier Friday.

“I will do all that I can, through direct diplomacy and leader-to-leader engagement, to keep advancing this groundbreaking process.” 

Biden administration officials say they are working to help Israel normalize relations with Arab nations in order to build on the Abraham Accords brokered under the Trump administration that saw Israel normalize relations with Bahrain, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.  

 “It is on a path that we hope will eventually lead to normalization, but it is the first step, and the first step is a big step,” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Friday, referring to the Saudi move to open up its airspace to Israeli flights.  

Lapid praised the Saudis for the move in a statement but called it “only the first step.” 

“We will continue working with necessary caution, for the sake of Israel’s economy, security and the good of our citizens,” Lapid said in a statement.  

 

Saudi Arabia reiterates preconditions for normalizing relations with Israel

In an interview with the Riyadh-based Arab News, Abdallah Al-Mouallimi, the kingdom’s permanent representative to the UN, said Riyadh is committed to the Arab Initiative for peace, which calls for the end of the Israeli occupation of all Arab territories occupied in 1967 and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital in return of normalizing ties with Israel.

"The official and latest Saudi position is that we are prepared to normalize relations with Israel as soon as Israel implements the elements of the Saudi peace initiative that was presented in 2002," Al-Mouallimi said.

He added that once implementing the initiative, Israel will have recognition "not only from Saudi Arabia but the entire Muslim world, all 57 countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation".

"Time does not change right or wrong. The Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories is wrong no matter how long it lasts," the diplomat said.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move that has never been recognized by the international community.

It may be recalled that when United Arab Emirates (UAE) became the first Gulf state to normalize relations with Israel, in a historic US-brokered accord, it raised the prospect of similar deals with other Arab states including Saudi Arabia.

However, Saudi Arabia declared it will not follow UAE in establishing diplomatic ties with Israel until the Jewish state has signed an internationally recognized peace accord with the Palestinians.

But after days of conspicuous silence and in the face of US pressure to announce a similar deal, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan ruled out the possibility until the Palestinian issue is resolved.

Peace must be achieved with the Palestinians on the basis of international agreements as a pre-condition for any normalization of relations, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told reporters during a visit to Berlin.

“Once that is achieved all things are possible,” he added, in a comment that was consistent with Saudi Arabia's previous stance on the issue.

Prince Faisal's remarks were the kingdom's first official reaction since the UAE's landmark deal with Israel, which was the third such accord the Jewish state has struck with an Arab country after Egypt and Jordan.

Until now, Saudi Arabia had maintained a notable silence over the deal even as local officials hinted that Riyadh was unlikely to immediately follow in the footsteps of the UAE, its principle regional ally.

United States kept pressure on the kingdom, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner had insisted that it would be in Riyadh's interest to formally establish ties with Israel.

Further putting the kingdom in the spotlight, the then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was working on opening a corridor over Saudi Arabia for flights to the UAE.

Saudi Arabia, the Arab world's biggest economy and home to Islam's holiest sites, faces more sensitive political calculations than the UAE.

Not only would a formal recognition of Israel be seen by Palestinians and their supporters as a betrayal of their cause, it would also hurt the kingdom's image as the leader of the Islamic world.

“The notion that Saudi Arabia will be next in normalizing relations with Israel was far-fetched,” said Aziz Alghashian, a lecturer at Essex University specializing in the kingdom's policy towards Israel.

The biggest constraint for Saudi-Israeli normalization is not the fear of a domestic and regional backlash. “Rather, Saudi Arabia deems it necessary not to normalize relations outside the framework of the Arab Peace Initiative that called for resolving the Palestinian issue, if it still wants to be seen as the leader of the Muslim and Arab world,” Alghashian told AFP.

In 2002, Saudi Arabia sponsored the Arab Peace Initiative which called for Israel's complete withdrawal from the Palestinian territories occupied after the Six-Day War of 1967, in exchange for peace and the full normalization of relations.

 

Top of the agenda items of Saudi-US talks

According to Saudi Gazette, US President Joe Biden is scheduled to start an official visit of Saudi Arabia on Friday for the first time since taking office in early 2021. The two-day visit comes at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

During the visit, Biden will meet King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman to discuss aspects of cooperation between the two friendly countries, and the ways to confront the challenges facing the region and the world.

The Saudi visit aims to further strengthen the historical bilateral relations and the distinguished strategic partnership between Saudi Arabia and United States, and the common desire to develop them in all fields.

On Saturday, Biden will attend the first Arab-American Summit of its kind, convened by King Salman. The summit will also be attended by the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, as well as the Jordanian King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi. Biden will also hold meetings with these regional leaders before the summit.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan announced on Wednesday that Biden will meet King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman during his visit to Saudi Arabia. Sullivan confirmed that a “bilateral program” will be held on Friday night, when Biden arrives, and will include King Salman, the Crown Prince and “other ministers in the Saudi government.”

Sullivan revealed that Biden will hold bilateral meetings with a number of regional leaders before the upcoming summit with them, and refused to answer a question about the sequencing of these meetings.

When asked to give an overview of what Biden will say at the GCC +3 Summit, Sullivan said, “President will give broad and strong statements and strategy about his approach to the Middle East.”

He also noted that Biden will discuss security, the economy, and America’s historic role in the region, and his commitment to moving forward with strong American leadership in the Middle East.

Analysts believe that the US president has realistically realized that it is time to break the deadlock in Saudi-US relations, as relations between the two countries were not good since the first day of Biden’s arrival at the White House. Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia and his upcoming summit in Jeddah are in the interests of the United States in the medium and strategic terms.

They added that the region has become more strategically important to America and the West, with the continuation of the Russian-Ukrainian war, which has entered its fifth month, and the failure of nuclear negotiations with Iran.

It is expected that Biden’s visit will witness signing of some military agreements between Washington and some of the Arab countries to ensure the security of the Arab region, in addition to discussing other vital issues, such as Yemen, Lebanon, Palestine, Libya and Sudan, as well as the security of the Arab region in general.

Analysts said that Biden will seek to clarify the American vision and reassure the Arab countries about the Iranian nuclear agreement, which cannot be predicted about what will happen around it, but there are Arab fears that America knows.

A few days ago, US State Department spokesman Ned Price confirmed his country’s readiness to return to the nuclear agreement, provided that Iran lived up to its commitments.

“If Iran does not respond to negotiations, the chances of reaching an agreement will decrease,” Price said, while stressing the need to return to the nuclear agreement before Tehran acquires a nuclear bomb.

Leaders of the ruling Democratic Party also confirmed that the visit of Biden implies the paramount significance that the American administration attaches to the region, especially in light of the global energy crisis, in addition to trying to fix what can be fixed, and repel the strife that has spread about an imbalance in the American-Saudi or Arab relations.

Iran is, of course, another big and fundamental question in the Middle East. Indeed, it is the question that almost all other questions relate to, from Iraq to Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Palestine. Biden’s declared policy toward Iran centered around the idea of ​​his administration’s desire to return to the nuclear agreement signed by the Obama administration where he held the position of vice president.

The agreement stipulated that Iran would be subject to monitoring its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions, but no significant progress has been made since Biden took office, and negotiations between the United States, major powers and Iran stopped in Vienna months ago. However, it is interesting to note that a quick round of negotiations between Washington and Tehran took place in Doha prior to Biden’s visit.

It is true that the Doha negotiations did not bring about anything, but it came as a reminder that the door for dialogue between the two parties is still open, and the possibilities of returning to the agreement are still in place.

Biden’s visit to the Middle East that kicked off in Israel on Wednesday bears hopes of reuniting the countries of the region to confront common challenges, especially Iran’s nuclear program, which poses an existential threat to more than one country.

Biden’s visit provides an opportunity for convergence of views on other files, including oil supplies, in light of the Russian war on Ukraine. Questions are raised about the extent of this visit’s contribution to ‘forcing’ Tehran to review its rigid position in negotiations over its nuclear program and return to the agreement that concluded with international powers in 2015.

What is Biden's motive to visit Saudi Arabia?

US President Joe Biden will discuss energy supply, human rights, and security cooperation in Saudi Arabia on Friday on a trip designed to reset the US relationship with a country he once pledged to make a "pariah" on the world stage.

Biden will hold meetings with Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, along with other government officials, a senior Biden administration official told reporters.

The visit will be closely watched for body language and rhetoric. US intelligence had concluded that MBS directly approved the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, while the crown prince denies having a role in the killing.

White House advisers have declined to say whether Biden will shake hands with the prince, the kingdom's de facto ruler.

"The president's going to meet about a dozen leaders and he'll greet them as he usually does," the administration official said.

At the start of Biden's trip to the Middle East, officials said he would avoid close contacts, such as shaking hands, as a precaution against COVID-19. But the president ended up engaging in hand-shaking in Israel.

Biden said on Thursday his position on Khashoggi's murder was "absolutely" clear. Biden made his "pariah" comment less than two years ago after the journalist's killing and while campaigning for president.

Biden said that he would raise human rights in Saudi Arabia, but he did not say specifically if he would broach the Khashoggi killing with its leaders.

Energy and security interests prompted the president and his aides to decide not to isolate the country. The United States is eager to see Saudi Arabia and its OPEC partners pump more oil to help bring down the high cost of gasoline and ease the highest US inflation in four decades.

"The Saudis definitely are intending to boost capacity and with oil prices so high they have the wherewithal to do that, particularly as they see production constraints elsewhere in a market that is still growing," said Daniel Yergin, S&P Global vice chairman and an expert in world energy markets.

Biden will encourage peace and press for a more integrated Middle East during his trip, the official said.

"We will be covering a host of bilateral and regional issues, really capping many months of diplomacy and positioning the United States and our partners for the future in a manner that advances our interests and theirs," he said.

Topics include strengthening a truce in the war in Yemen, "balance" in energy markets and technological cooperation in 5G and 6G, he said.

 

US-Israel joint declaration against Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and US President Joe Biden signed a joint declaration on Thursday reaffirming the two nations' partnership and cooperation when it comes to Iran, among other topics that they have joint interests in.

The declaration reiterated the US commitment to ensuring that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon and that it is "prepared to use all elements of its national power to ensure that outcome."

The US also pledged to continue to work with partner nations to stop Iran's attempts to destabilize the region both directly and through proxies like Hezbollah, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Memorandum of Understanding

The declaration also referred to the US$38 billion MoU on security assistance supplied to Israel by the US that has been signed over the last few decades by consecutive American administrations.

The declaration expressed America's conviction to add a follow-up MoU to "address emerging threats and new realities."

Jerusalem expressed its appreciation of Washington's assistance, and the two countries expressed enthusiasm for moving forward with a close defense partnership.

Abraham Accords

Israel thanked the US for its support regarding the Abraham Accords, and the two allies reiterated the importance of the Negev Forum that met last month in Bahrain. 

The declaration expressed the commitment of the US to the effort of expanding the accords with Saudi Arabia in Biden's upcoming visit over the weekend as well as including further Arab and Muslim countries.

Anti-Israel and antisemitic attacks

The two nations reaffirmed their dedication to fighting against efforts to boycott and delegitimize Israel as well as efforts to unfairly single it out in organizations such as the United Nations and the International Criminal Court.

The declaration also committed to fighting against antisemitism, with the US reiterating its pride of standing "with the Jewish and democratic State of Israel."

Israeli-Palestinian Relations

Regarding the tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, both nations condemned the series of terror attacks in recent months and affirmed "the need to confront radical forces... seeking to inflame tension and instigate violence and terrorism."

Biden reaffirmed his support for a two-state solution and expressed America's readiness to work with Israel and the Palestinian Authority to make a peaceful solution to the tensions possible.