Washington has re-established itself under President Joe Biden’s watch as the dominant security and economic partner desired by Middle East governments, halting a trend toward countries seeking closer ties with Russia and China, a senior White House official has claimed.
“If you go back to this region, say, I don’t know, 18 months ago, you heard an awful lot of just really significant hedging and, I would say, in many capitals, a real drift towards Russia and even China in many ways,” a Biden administration official told reporters on Friday. “Really, that has been arrested and, in many instances, very specific instances – not all which I can talk about – reversed.”
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity, touting Biden’s alleged accomplishments during the president’s four-day trip to the Middle East this week. Wrapping up his first visit to the region since taking office in January 2021, Biden met with leaders of nine countries at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) +3 Summit in Saudi Arabia before heading back to Washington on Saturday.