Arab Experts: We Are Waiting for the Biden Administration To Keep Its Promises
America renews its commitment to the security of the Middle East
“There is no such thing as an ‘Arab NATO,’ and there is no talk of a Gulf alliance with Israel,” Faisal bin Farhan, the Saudi foreign minister, told reporters after the Jeddah summit concluded this weekend.
“The kingdom’s decision to lift the restrictions imposed on all airlines to use its airspace is not a sign to push for a future relationship with Israel. This has nothing to do with diplomatic relations with Israel and is not in any way a prelude to subsequent steps,” he said.
The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, attacked Israel in his speech, saying, “Tension will remain unless Israel stops building settlements and changes the character of Jerusalem and its siege of Gaza.”
He continued, “It is not permissible for the role of the Arabs to be to propose [peace] settlements and the role of Israel to reject them. The Arab countries have unanimously agreed, despite their differences, on an Arab Peace Initiative, and it is not right to abandon it just because Israel rejects it.
“Just as Israel has public opinion, we also have our public opinion,” the emir said.
US President Joe Biden attended the summit on Saturday along with nine Arab countries, namely the Gulf states (host country Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates) in addition to the king of Jordan, the Egyptian president, and the Iraqi prime minister, for discussions on security and energy in the Middle East and bilateral relations.
The summit, officially the Jeddah Summit for Security and Development, issued a joint final statement of 21 points, including the affirmation by the United States of its commitment to the security of partners in the Middle East and the agreement to address all activities that threaten the security and stability of the region.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in his speech during the summit, “Saudi Arabia has previously announced an increase in its production capacity to 13 million barrels [a day], which is the upper limit that it can do.”
The prince called on Iran to “cooperate and not interfere in the affairs of the countries of the region,” and stressed that Iraq is witnessing an improvement in its security, which is reflected in the security of the region.
As for President Joe Biden, he announced $1 billion in funding for food security in the Middle East and North Africa.
The American president reiterated the United States’ commitment to work toward achieving a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace in the Middle East.
The conferees stressed the need to reach a just solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of the two-state solution, the importance of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, the need to stop all unilateral measures that undermine the two-state solution, respect for the historical status quo in Jerusalem and its holy sites, and the main role of the Hashemite guardianship in this context.
Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa said in his speech, “Direct interference in the internal affairs of states is among the most serious challenges that exist, as it violates the principles and rights guaranteed by international laws.”
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On its sidelines, the summit witnessed bilateral meetings between the leaders of the countries, the most prominent of which was perhaps when the king of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa and the emir of Qatar met for the first time since the Gulf diplomatic crisis in mid-2017, when Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE severed diplomatic relations with Qatar and banned Qatar-registered planes and ships from using their airspace and sea routes, along with Saudi Arabia blocking Qatar’s only land crossing, accusing the emirate of supporting terrorism. The crisis was resolved in 2021.
In the summit’s final statement, the participants called on Iran to cooperate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency, and with the countries of the region, to keep the Arab Gulf region free of weapons of mass destruction and maintain regional and international security and stability.
They condemned terrorism in all its forms, terrorist attacks against civilians and energy facilities in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and activities that threaten the security of navigation, especially in the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandab.
They also expressed support for Iraq and its stability, welcomed the armistice in Yemen and the formation of the Presidential Leadership Council there, and intensified political efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis, support Lebanon’s sovereignty and economy, resolve the Libyan crisis, efforts to stabilize Sudan and respect for the principles of international law in the war in Ukraine.
The leaders agreed on several joint projects in the areas of environment and innovation support.
Before the summit, the cold reception of President Joe Biden in Jeddah was viewed with great interest by the Arab public, as he was received at King Abdulaziz International Airport by Khalid bin Faisal, the governor of Mecca Province (to which Jeddah belongs), and the Saudi ambassador to America, Reema bint Bandar, while he was received by Crown Prince Mohammed and the rest of the leaders upon his arrival at the Al-Salam Palace.
Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs, who serves under Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, reported that President Biden raised, during a bilateral meeting between America and Saudi Arabia, the issue of the killing of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, to which Prince Mohammed responded that such “mistakes happen,” and that Saudi Arabia had taken measures to hold those involved accountable and to ensure it was not repeated.
Jubeir added that the crown prince said, “There are other cases that occurred, such as the killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh [in the West Bank], and the Abu Ghraib Prison case [in Iraq], and these are mistakes that occurred, and we did not see accountability for them.
“Prince Mohammed bin Salman assured Biden that the privacy of countries, the way they work, and everything related to their affairs must be respected,” Jubeir said.
Jordanian political analyst Khaled Assaf told The Media Line that “the Jeddah summit succeeded because it dispelled fears of the ‘axis policy,’ which means that there are several mixed conflicting axes within the region.”
He added: “The presence of the Palestinian cause in such a meeting confirms that the Abraham Accords that were signed do not come to kill the Palestinian cause.”
Majid al-Shammari, an Iraqi professor of international relations, told The Media Line, “The Jeddah summit brought Iraq back to the Arabs, but Biden did not offer much during the summit.”
He added, “Biden made no promises other than committing to the security of the Middle East, and this contradicts the current US administration’s pursuit of the return of the previous nuclear agreement with Iran, and the nine countries gathered stressed the need to resolve these conflicts in the region.”
Khaled Gamal, an Egyptian political analyst, told The Media Line, “Through the summit, the countries of the region got everything they wanted, but in a piecemeal fashion, not through a single deal, whether with regard to energy, food security, the Iran file, or other matters.”
He explained, “All that must be done now is by the US administration, which must abide by what was said in this statement and take steps to implement the commitments it made during the summit and agreed to in accordance with the final statement.
“President Biden’s administration, by accepting the meeting in Saudi Arabia, showed that it once again knew the value of the Middle East and its weight in the global balance and that it should not be abandoned in any way,” Gamal said.
Mohammad Othman, head of the Institute of Iranian Studies, told The Media Line, “Fifty percent of the [final statement’s] articles talk about the security dimension of the Middle East, and there is a focus on the region being free from the issue of nuclear weapons. The most important thing is what Biden said on the issue of [the US] returning to the region.”
“What President Biden said about confronting the drones that attack the countries of the region, strengthening the air defense and deterrence, the sabotaging militias in the region, and the piracy of ships carried out by Iran, was accurately mentioned in the statement, and we are waiting for President Biden to implement it,” Othman said.
Abdul Malik Saeed, an Omani political analyst, told The Media Line, “There is a clear understanding among the two communities of the need not to be drawn into wars, which is a very good thing, in addition to talking about food security and providing $1 billion in this field.
“The American commitment to the security of the region means that America will not leave, which was previously rumored,” he said.
Khalifa al-Marri, a Qatari political analyst, told The Media Line, “The Jeddah summit witnessed a real transformation in some files in the region, and the most important thing from my point of view is the meeting of Sheikh Tamim, the emir of Qatar, with the king of Bahrain, which opens the door for the restoration of relations between the two countries.
“The talk about the Palestinian issue was frank, there should be more efforts to resolve this issue, through which stability can be greatly restored to the Middle East,” Marri said.
Jarrah al-Shammari, a Kuwaiti political expert, told The Media Line, “The focus was strong on important files in the Middle East. We are only waiting for the US administration to implement.
“We in the countries of the region are proceeding according to our plans, which will not change according to the mood of the US administration. The matter was very clear; there are no concessions by the countries of the Middle East, and America must follow the same plans that the countries of the Middle East set for themselves,” Shammari said.
