And eventually Joe Biden had to give up. After calling Mohammed bin Salman a “pariah” in the election campaign for his responsibilities in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, the American president will go to the court of the Saudi crown prince. The trip, announced on Friday on Washington Post by David Ignatius and confirmed today by State Department sources al New York Times it has not yet been officially confirmed but will most likely take place at the end of June, coinciding with Biden’s already scheduled visit to Israel.
Biden’s journey to Riyadh is a long one: in the first phase of his administration, the president had had an attitude of detachment towards the Saudis, in stark contrast to his predecessor, Donald Trump, who had maintained relations with Bin Salman very close even in the phases immediately following the murder of the editorialist of Washington Post. Biden had called King Salman – the elderly monarch who officially leads the country, despite having in fact passed most of his powers to his son – but refused any contact with the prince. Then, driven by the need to find answers to the energy crisis (Saudi Arabia is the first oil producer in the world), things had begun to change. The total overthrow occurred in the first days of the war in Ukraine when, as the Wall Street JournalMbs refused to answer a call from Biden who wanted to ask for an increase in oil production by Riyadh to compensate for the blockade imposed on Russian production.
At that stage, MBS launched a real challenge to the United States, with a long interview with theAtlantic. “We are a growing country. We have resources and money to spend. America should consider what its interests are when dealing with its allies. We have no problem turning to other markets, China first,” said the prince. A message that the White House has received and with the barrel now above 120 dollars (it was 70 just a couple of years ago) it could only accept. Hence, the journey. Which may also have regional consequences: while King Salam has always said he is against joining the Abrahamic Agreements that have marked peace between Israel and some Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Mbs is more of a possibility. Biden could play the role of facilitator, introducing to Bennett – whom he will see on the same trip – the conditions that the Saudis place for putting their signature on.
The handshake between Biden and MBS will definitively mark the triumph of the 35-year-old prince who in five years of power – the anniversary is in about ten days – has revolutionized the face of what was once the most closed country in the world: granting women have the right to drive and go around uncovered, bringing music and shows to a nation where they had been banned for decades, limiting the role of the religious police, opening the economy to new sectors such as high tech and tourism. But also by imposing the toughest squeeze in the field of rights and freedoms: today no form of dissent is tolerated in Saudi Arabia, with hundreds of activists, economists, journalists, in prison. And the power of the prince, contrary to the Al Saud tradition, has no limits or balances: in 2017 hundreds of princes and senior state officials were arrested and forced to give up most of their wealth on charges of corruption. Some of them are still under arrest: like Mohammed bib Nayef, former crown prince for years very close to Washington, defenestrated by his cousin Mbs. Another era, another Saudi Arabia: today’s one awaits Joe Biden to mark, once and for all, his new role in the world.