Can America succeed in winning back its old friend Saudi Arabia?

Improving US-Saudi Ties Blinken’s trip is taking place at a time, when Saudi Arab’ crown prince Mohammed is being seen disregarding American advice on the production of the crude oil. Riyadh has been ignoring US President Joe Biden on its supply of crude oil to global markets, its willingness to partner with Russia in OPEC plus and reaching a détente with Iran mediated by China are considered a total rebellion against the established US policies in the region. Since Biden’s inauguration as the President, his relationship with the Saudi Prince was always strained, especially when Biden announced  to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” over the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Saudi Arabia, like other Gulf Arab nations, have been relying upon the US to be the security guarantor for the wider Middle East as tensions over Iran’s nuclear program in recent years have spilled over into a series of attacks. Convergence of Policies In spite of the improvement in the Saudi Arabia-Iran ties, Saudi leaders are also keen to end the war in Yemen, something also sought by the U.S. The Blinken’s visit to Saudi Arabia also shows that he is more eager to engage internationally, particularly after being involved in prisoner swaps in the Moscow-Ukraine conflict. The kingdom hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in May at an Arab League summit. It is hoped that after this visit, Washington will leverage its security relationship with Saudi Arabia as it gets warmer towards China and Russia. However, the Saudis point out that Biden can’t provide weapons, when it comes to Congress stopping arms sales to the kingdom. Interestingly, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Arabian Peninsula Affairs, Daniel Benaim has asserted before the media that “human rights are a pillar of how this administration engages with countries around the world and in this region,” but he declined to discuss specifics. He also questioned whether Blinken would be bringing up human rights issues, including Khashoggi’s death, during the visit. Instead he indulged in the usual rhetoric of a diplomat, “I think what you’ll see on this trip is the vision of the U.S-Saudi relationship that’s both rooted in our historic mainstays of cooperation in areas like defence and security and counter-terrorism, includes ongoing important regional diplomacy when it comes to Yemen and Sudan, and looks for opportunities for regional de-escalation and regional integration.” However, he betrayed the American concern, when he stated, “We will not leave a vacuum for our strategic competitors in the region.”