Amid strained relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia, President Biden continues to visit Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s doorstep with gifts to reclaim the kingdom. And the relationship is becoming more and more strained.
The main problem with this relationship is that the United States, as a unipolar world hegemon, continues to stand at Saudi Arabia’s door and demand an exclusive relationship. But when Saudis open their doors, they see a world they no longer see as unipolar. We are seeing a new multipolar world that is not sufficiently betting on currently growing powers like the United States. Saudi Arabia is not trying to separate itself from the United States, but it is trying to balance its relationship to adapt to a changing world.
The most significant sign of Saudi Arabia’s emergence in the multipolar world is its September 2021 acceptance as a Dialogue Partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The SCO is the second largest international organization in the world after the United Nations and includes Russia, China, and India. Its main purpose is to transform the US-led unipolar world into a multipolar world. Saudi Arabia is also seeking membership in BRICS, another of its major organizations led by Russia and China that seeks to balance US hegemony and create a new multipolar world.
In the past few months, Biden has brought three of his gifts to Saudi Arabia. He has called the “pariah state” back into the international community, defended Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) from prosecution, and refused to end his support for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia joins forces with the US’s main rivals Russia and China by aligning with Russia against the US-led sanctions regime and signing a strategic partnership with China.
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In July, Biden flew to Saudi Arabia to seek a realignment of ties and an increase in oil production, offsetting the global price hikes caused by sanctions against Russia and making those sanctions more effective. Biden offered Saudi Arabia an expanded “strategic partnership,” a “commitment to support Saudi Arabia’s security and territorial defense,” and further commitments to maintain Saudi Arabia as the dominant power in the region.
Saudi Arabia sent a response in October. OPEC+ said it would cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day. This equates to a 2% cut in the world’s daily supply. This was larger than expected and the largest reduction in over two years.
But Saudi Arabia did not simply reject Biden’s demands. It didn’t just reject sanctions against Russia, it sided with Russia. The decision to cut oil production was not an OPEC decision alone. The decision was taken by OPEC and OPEC+, an organization of non-OPEC oil producers, including Russia. So, the Saudi decision is perceived by the White House as being coordinated with Russia and as evidence of Saudi Arabia overtly siding with Russia. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that “It’s clear that OPEC+ is aligning with Russia with today’s announcement.”
Despite Saudi Arabia’s rejection and what Annelle Sheline, Research Fellow for the Middle East program at the Quincy Institute, called the “evidence from MBS that he is not interested in a close relationship,” Biden continues to court Saudi Arabia, and Mohammed bin Salman personally, with gifts.
Sheline told me that “there are certain players in the administration, including [Deputy Assistant to President Biden] Brett McGurk and [under secretary of defense for policy] Colin Kahl, who feel that the U.S. must maintain close ties to the Saudis (and Emiratis) no matter what.”
Sheline says that the dedication is “partly driven by antagonism towards Iran” and encouraged by weapons manufacturers: “Saudi Arabia remains the U.S. weapons industry’s most important customer.”
So, Biden continues to try to seduce Saudi Arabia back into an exclusive unipolar relationship. In 2018, Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered by a Saudi Arabian hit squad. In February 2021, a U.S. intelligence report that was finally released revealed that top U.S. intelligence officials believe that the hit squad was under the command of Mohammed bin Salman. The most significant sign of Saudi Arabia’s emergence in the multipolar world is its September 2021 acceptance as a Dialogue Partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. SCO is the second largest international organization in the world after the United Nations and includes Russia, China, and India. Its main purpose is to transform the US-led unipolar world into a multipolar one. Saudi Arabia is also seeking membership in BRICS, another of its major organizations led by Russia and China that seeks to balance US hegemony and create a new multipolar world.
In the past few months, Biden has brought three of her gifts to Saudi Arabia. He has called the “pariah state” back into the international community, defended Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) from prosecution, and refused to end his support for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia joins forces with the US’s main rivals Russia and China by aligning with Russia against the US-led sanctions regime and signing a strategic partnership with China.
In July, Biden flew to Saudi Arabia to seek a realignment of ties and an increase in oil production, offsetting the global price hikes caused by sanctions against Russia and making those sanctions more effective. Mr. Biden offered Saudi Arabia an expanded “strategic partnership,” a “commitment to support Saudi Arabia’s security and territorial defense,” and a further commitment to maintaining Saudi Arabia as the dominant power in the region.
In October, Saudi Arabia sent a reply. OPEC+ said it would cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day. This equates to a 2% cut in the world’s daily supply. This was larger than expected and the largest reduction in over two years.
But Saudi Arabia did not simply reject Biden’s demands. They not only refused to participate in the sanctions against Russia. They sided with Russia. The decision to cut oil production was not an OPEC decision alone. The decision was taken by OPEC and OPEC+, an organization of non-OPEC oil producers, including Russia. So, the Saudi decision is perceived by the White House as being coordinated with Russia and as evidence of Saudi Arabia overtly siding with Russia. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that “It’s clear that OPEC+ is aligning with Russia with today’s announcement.”
Despite Saudi Arabia’s rejection and what Annelle Sheline, Research Fellow for the Middle East program at the Quincy Institute, called the “evidence from MBS that it is not interested in a close relationship,” Biden continues to court Saudi Arabia, and Mohammed bin Salman personally, with gifts.
Despite this recognition of the crown prince’s responsibility and guilt, the Biden administration ruled in November that he would be exempt from the jurisdiction of U.S. courts as head of state. Forced a federal judge in Washington to reluctantly dismiss the case against Muhammad bin Salman. “Despite the court’s displeasure, the United States informed the court that he had immunity,” the judge said.
It’s still not enough to win back MBS, but Biden brought another gift. On December 13, after strong opposition from the Biden administration, Senator Bernie Sanders withdrew a war powers resolution ending US support for the Saudi-led war on Yemen.
Perhaps the most devastating war in the world today, the Saudi-led coalition war “killed nearly 400,000 civilians and pushed 16 million to the brink of starvation.” The US funded ‘the world’s worst humanitarian crisis’ with $55 billion. It has trained pilots, delivered aircraft, repaired weapons, and provided logistics and intelligence support.
The Yemen War Powers Act would have put an end to U.S. intelligence sharing and logistical support that enables the Saudi airstrikes. But Biden worked hard to put an end to The Yemen War Powers Act, supporting the Saudi-led war as one more gift to Saudi Arabia and Mohammed bin Salman. Biden’s hard work puts him “in the unusual position,” says The Washington Post, “of standing against an effort to punish a Saudi regime that has been anything but friendly to him.”
The White House circulated talking points to senators promising that “[i]f this resolution was presented to the President, his staff will recommend the President veto it.” The White House argued that the resolution could imperil the fragile pause in the war. It argued that the resolution was unnecessary given successful U.S. diplomacy. And, in the cruelest argument, it argued that, because the resolution names intelligence sharing and logistical support as “hostilities,” it “could have real ramifications for our support for Ukraine right now.” Brutally, the Biden administration is willing to let thousands starve and die in one war in order to protect participation in another. But these courtships alone were not enough to return Saudi Arabia to exclusive relations in a US-led unipolar world. Saudi Arabia received a gift and welcomed a visit from China.
On Dec. 9, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Saudi Arabia, pledging the two countries to “strongly support each other’s core interests” and forming what a joint statement called a “comprehensive strategic partnership.” signed. Between the Kingdom and China”.
Xi called the visit the beginning of a “new era” in bilateral relations. He has vowed to continue importing large amounts of oil from the region and has proposed paying for oil deals as a move to weaken the United States and strengthen multipolarity.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud denied Mr. Biden was claiming an exclusive relationship in a unipolar world, arguing that he could have a relationship with either. I don’t believe in polarization or choosing one or the other,” he said. Not polarizing or choosing one or the other is a commitment to a multipolar world. Sheline told me, “From the Saudi perspective, China is the future.
China is Saudi Arabia’s most important customer and we will take a more independent path.”
Importantly, Saudi Arabia and China signed a coordination plan for “synergies” between China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, further binding the two countries.
The conference and the overall strategic partnership are very important developments. But it shouldn’t be surprising. “China represents the future of Saudi Arabia,” Sheline told me. Security cooperation comes with that,” she said.
Saudi Arabia’s continued ties with China and Russia are two nations that the United States believes are in rivalry over Saudi loyalty, not a choice of one over the other. Saudi Arabia no longer feels it is in its best interests to be forced to take sides in the future. This is the nature of the new multipolar world that Saudi Arabia sees.
And that is an essential problem in US-Saudi relations. The US still demands an exclusive partnership in a unipolar world
Source: Tehrantimes
