United States President Joe Biden is set to make a risky trip to Saudi Arabia and meet with its de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, ending the region's "pariah" status, after two key deals were agreed upon in relation to oil production.
In a surprise announcement on Thursday, OPEC and allied-producing nations revealed that they plan to increase oil production by 200,000 barrels per day in July and August. This has led to praise from the White House for Saudi Arabia's role in "achieving consensus" and facilitating the boost.
US and Saudi Arabia Leaders
Despite being only a small amount, the move is seen by Biden administration officials as a significant breakthrough in the diplomatic relationship between the two regions. One official also described it as a "huge shift" after nearly a year of the Saudis flatly refusing American requests to increase oil production even with prices reaching a record high this year.
On Thursday, Biden separately announced that a truce in Yemen had been extended, similarly heaping praise on the Saudis for demonstrating "courageous leadership by taking initiatives early on to endorse and implement terms of the UN-led truce, as per CNN.
The timing of the announcements was deliberate, one official said and is laying the groundwork for a likely meeting later this month between the two leaders. Due to Saudi Arabia currently holding the presidency of the Gulf Cooperation Council, any engagement between Biden and bin Salman would likely coincide with a meeting of the council in Riyadh later this month.
A separate White House official said that a meeting has not yet been finalized but that if the U.S. president "determines that it's in the interests of the United States to engage with a foreign leader and that such an engagement can deliver results, then he'll do so."
According to the New York Times, Saudi Arabia's "pariah" status, which makes it an outcast in the international community, is a result of the assassination of a prominent dissident. While Biden's trip to the region is still being discussed, it would be added to the visit to a previously scheduled trip to Europe and Israel.
Bringing Down Oil Prices
Foreign policy experts said that Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia represents the triumph of realpolitik over moral outrage. It comes in the wake of Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine which has exacerbated the prices of oil.
The U.S. president has deemed it necessary to court other energy producers to replace the oil supply from Moscow amid Western sanctions. The Biden administration has also been stepping up cooperation with Saudi Arabia on a variety of issues even before Russia's war on Ukraine.
Biden's visit will also come amid rising tensions between the two regions and has caused families of victims of Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to be deeply suspicious of the Saudi government and are seeking to bring lawsuits against Riyadh.
The meeting is expected to largely focus on convincing Riyadh to release more oil on the market and bring down gas prices that have reached sky-high peaks, said Samantha Gross, a fellow and director of the Energy Security and Climate Initiative at the Brookings Institution, The Hill reported.
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