[Home]  [Headlines]  [Latest Articles]  [Latest Comments]  [Post]  [Sign-in]  [Mail]  [Setup]  [Help] 

Status: Not Logged In; Sign In

Elon’s first day working for the Federal Government

Senior Harris Advisor Deletes X Account As "Massive Scandal" Brews Over $20 Million In Campaign Debt

Biden addresses the nation after Trump's election victory

Top Foods & Lifestyle Habits To Make New Mitochondria For Longevity | Dr. William L

Putin Shocks Israel Envoy In Kremlin With Pro-Palestine Speech | This Happened Next

President Trump Should Revoke the Security Clearances of the 51 Dishonorable Former Intel Officials Who Lied

Israeli soldiers are leaving Google reviews for Lebanese places they destroyed

Israel bogged down in southern Lebanon: 50,000 soldiers have not been able to conquer a single village

These are some of the most brutal jokes Gutfeld has ever told and Im loving every second!

The Recession Of 2025 Will Be Backdated

MORE MISSING MONEY, THIS TIME $41,000,000,000 AT THE WORLD BANK

American Trump Supporter Gives Woke Brits An Absolute Mauling on UK TV.

Elon Musk Just THREATENED George Soros & George COMPLETELY LOSES It!

Radical Left Activates Anti-Trump Protests As AoC Riles Up Rioters

Israel dropped over 85,000 tons of bombs inside Gaza since start of genocide

Morning Joe: Dems Favorite Show, Blatant Pro-Israel Propaganda

Biden Team Wants To Rush Weapons Shipments to Ukraine Before Trump Inauguration

Israel Considers Attacking Iranian Nuclear Sites During US Transition

How American Households Have Changed Over The Last 65 Years

After Trump Win, RFK Jr. Says 'Entire Departments' At The FDA 'Have To Go'

Mark Dice - Summing Up the 2024 Election

Miami-Dade County Goes Republican For the First Time Since 1988

Trump Has Sweeping Plans For His 2nd Administration: Here's What He Has Proposed

Elon OFFICIALLY destroyed legacy media and they can't recover

Trump Received Only 21% of the Jewish Vote, Largest Preliminary Exit Poll Finds

Scorpions - Wind Of Change

Former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert says Netanyahu is the real enemy not Iran or Hezbollah

How America Became Unburdened By What Has Been

Asian Man: People are Getting It about NS Germany and US Today,

Israel army withdraws several brigades from southern Lebanon: Report


ObamaNation
See other ObamaNation Articles

Title: Saudis, UAE Refuse To Take Biden's Calls To Discuss Ukraine Situation, Talk To Putin Instead
Source: zerohedge
URL Source: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopoliti ... k-biden-over-ukraine-situation
Published: Mar 9, 2022
Author: Tyler Durden
Post Date: 2022-03-09 06:49:39 by Esso
Keywords: None
Views: 87
Comments: 1

First, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro declined to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Then, India followed suit - as the Modi government attempted to balance its historic ties with Moscow and its strategic partnership with Washington.

Now, Saudi and UAE leaders are refusing to take Biden's calls as the US president tries to contain surging oil prices, according to the Wall Street Journal, which adds that the Persian Gulf monarchies have signaled "they won’t help ease surging oil prices unless Washington supports them in Yemen, elsewhere."

"There was some expectation of a phone call, but it didn’t happen," said one US official of a planned discussion between Biden and the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. "It was part of turning on the spigot [of Saudi oil]."

The U.A.E.’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan also ghosted Biden in recent weeks according to Middle East and US officials.

Yet, both Prince Mohammed and Sheikh Mohammed took phone calls from Russian President Vladimir Putin after declining to speak with Biden, according to the WSJ. They also spoke with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky.

Biden was able to get through to Prince Mohammed's 86-year-old father on Feb. 9, however the U.A.E.’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the call between Mr. Biden and Sheikh Mohammed would need to be rescheduled, according to the report.

What do they get out of it?

As the Journal notes, "The Saudis have signaled that their relationship with Washington has deteriorated under the Biden administration, and they want more support for their intervention in Yemen’s civil war, help with their own civilian nuclear program as Iran’s moves ahead, and legal immunity for Prince Mohammed in the U.S., Saudi officials said. The crown prince faces multiple lawsuits in the U.S., including over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018."

There's the ask.

Meanwhile, the Emiratis share Saudi concerns about the less-than- adequate level of engagement by the US regarding recent missile strikes by Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen against both the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The two kingdoms are also concerned about the revival of the Iran nuclear deal - which is in its 'final stages of negotiations,' yet does zero to address their security concerns.

So for those keeping track, while the west has continued to insist that Russia is isolated - and make no mistake, these sanctions will be immediately crippling - if one considers the population and resources which originate in China, India, Brazil and the Middle East kingdoms - basically half the world's population and those who control most of the world's commodities aren't on board with punishing Putin or easing the situation to the west's benefit.

And as the Journal points out, "Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. are the only two major oil producers that can pump millions of more barrels of more oil—a capacity that, if used, could help calm the crude market at a time when American gasoline prices are at high levels."

Too little, too late?

Late last month, Brett McGurk, the National Security Council’s Middle East coordinator, and Amos Hochstein, the State Department’s energy envoy, flew to Riydah to try and smooth relations - while McGurk also met with Sheikh Mohammed in Abu Dhabi to hear out their frustrations with America's response to Houthi attacks.

Obviously, diplomacy didn't go well.

To date, the Saudis and Emiratis have declined to increase oil production - and are instead holding to the previously agreed OPEC production roadmap. What's more, their energy alliance with Russia, another top oil producer, has boosted OPECs global reach while bringing the Kingdoms closer to Moscow.

Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. forged deep ties with former President Donald Trump, who sided with them in a regional dispute with Qatar, pulled the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal that they had opposed, made his first trip abroad to Riyadh in 2017 and stood by Prince Mohammed after the killing of Mr. Khashoggi. But Mr. Trump’s decision not to respond to an Iranian drone and missile attack on major Saudi oil sites in 2019 rattled Gulf partners who have relied for decades on the promise of U.S. security protection. Iran denied involvement in the oil facility attacks.

The rift between Mr. Biden and Saudi Arabia’s crown prince stretches back to the 2020 presidential election, when the Democratic candidate vowed to treat the kingdom as a “pariah” state after a Saudi hit team killed Mr. Khashoggi in 2018 in Istanbul. -WSJ

Biden also released an intelligence report shortly after taking office which concluded that the 2018 Istanbul murder of WaPo journalist Jamal Khashoggi was approved by Prince Mohammed - who has denied knowledge of the plot despite close associates having been convicted in Saudi court over the the journalist's death.

The US president also slammed Saudi Arabia over its long war in Yemen, and cut off weapons that the Saudis were using to target Houthis. Biden also removed Houthis from a list of global terrorist groups, after former President Trump added them.

And on Monday (after Biden was ghosted), White House spox Jen Psaki confirmed that Biden stood by his view that the Saudis should be treated like a "pariah," and that their leadership has 'little redeeming social value.'

In an interview with the Atlantic magazine published last week, Prince Mohammed said when asked if Biden misunderstood him: "Simply, I do not care," adding that the US president shouldn't have alienated Saudi leaders. "It's up to him to think about the interests of America," he said, adding "Go for it."

So, perhaps don't call the country that could bail you out of an oil crunch a "pariah" if you might require their assistance.

Post Comment   Private Reply   Ignore Thread  


TopPage UpFull ThreadPage DownBottom/Latest

#1. To: All (#0)

The light that burns twice as bright, burns half as long. - Dr. Eldon Tyrell

Godfrey Smith: Mike, I wouldn't worry. Prosperity is just around the corner.
Mike Flaherty: Yeah, it's been there a long time. I wish I knew which corner.
My Man Godfrey (1936)

Esso  posted on  2022-03-09   7:12:07 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


TopPage UpFull ThreadPage DownBottom/Latest


[Home]  [Headlines]  [Latest Articles]  [Latest Comments]  [Post]  [Sign-in]  [Mail]  [Setup]  [Help]