Riyadh-Washington relations soured after Biden entered the White House in January 2021, after he vowed to turn Saudi Arabia into a marginalized and isolated country during his campaign. Relations between the two countries have soured since issues such as human rights, Jamal Khashoggi's assassination and the Yemeni war were raised.
While Biden focused on human rights issues in Saudi Arabia at the beginning of his presidency, now he is planning to visit the Saudi prince in his regional tour to the middle east.
Now analysts say Washington's view of Riyadh has changed, and the US president is seeking to strengthen ties with Saudis to achieve a number of specific goals during his upcoming visit to Riyadh.
In this regard, Clare Daly, a Member of the European Parliament told Mehr News Agency, "Saudi Arabia's bargaining power has hugely increased since the invasion of Ukraine. In response to the Ukraine war, Europe has passed sanctions against Russia, and this increasingly includes a ban on Russian energy imports, which Europe depended heavily on. "
The United States is very keen to prolong the war in Ukraine"The United States is very keen to prolong the war in Ukraine and to prevent any improvement of relations between Europe and Russia for as long as possible because it is in the US strategic interests to see Russia bogged down in a prolonged conflict, while Europe is trapped in a US-led NATO alliance. But if the situation is to continue like this, alternatives to banned Russian energy imports have to be found or else Europe will begin to waver," she added.
US has secured Europe as a new captive market for its LNG exports"Although the United States is an energy exporter, and has now secured Europe as a new captive market for its LNG exports, it cannot meet Europe's energy needs on its own. And so Biden is very keen to unlock alternative sources of energy for Europe. The US has walked back foreign policy commitments in a number of other ways – resuming, for example, dialogue with Venezuela, another oil producing nation. Saudi Arabia – which enjoys historically close relations with the United States - is a natural candidate. Saudi has been refusing to increase oil production to meet the crisis – a clear bargaining position, and as a result, the United States is walking back its policy commitments regarding Saudi human rights abuses and war crimes," Daly noted.
Interview by Zahra Mirzafarjouyan
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