Alwaght- The American-Saudi historical alliance was established and Saudi Arabia became part of the US sphere of influence since 1945, when then US President Franklin Roosevelt for the first time met King Abdulaziz bin Al Saud on an American naval ship in the Suez Canal.
But that was history, and now and under President Joe Biden, the meetings of the American and Saudi leaders never bear hallmarks of meetings of two historical allies, and perhaps the clearest sign is the decline to perform the prominent ‘sword dance’ of the Saudis with the Americans over the past three and half a year, whereas the Saudis have gone whole hog in holding warm reception ceremony to the Chinese President Xi Jinping and raised the swords during his visit, signaling friendship with Beijing.
But Losing a wealthy and oil-rich ally like Saudi Arabia in the Heartland of the world is not something Washington can easily ignore and watch Riyadh fall into the arms of major regional and international rivals such as Iran, China and Russia that have united their forces to destroy the hegemony of the West.
Although in recent years the Saudis defied their international ally with such moves as cooperation with Russia in OPEC Plus, détente with Iran, and facilitation of return of Syria to the Arab League, Washington officials still struggle through frequent visits to Riyadh to again rein in the defiant Arab kingdom. Washington has so far adopted a policy of tolerance towards Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s divisive policies.
On Wednesday, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Saudi Arabia in a difficult mission to discuss getting their relations back on the track. On May 7, the White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and the CIA Director William Burns visited the kingdom in a similar mission.
Prospects of relations amid differences and bilateral needs
Though it has become an established rule in the US relations with Saudi Arabia that ties with Riyadh are colder under the Democrats than under the Republicans, in a general view it seems that the American West Asia policies under various administrations have gradually impaired their relationship over the past two decades. Such American actions as invasion of Iraq under President George W. Bush that in the eyes of the Saudis led to assumption of power by the Iran-aligned Shiites in Baghdad, signing nuclear deal with Tehran under President Barack Obama, and even failure to show expected support in the face of Yemeni missile attacks on Aramco oil giant under President Donald Trump, and also human rights pressures on the kingdom under President Biden in the initial months of his presidency undermined this relationship.
Another factor, meanwhile, is the rise of Chinese economic power and the strategic Eastern alliance that is eliminating the post-Cold War unipolar global order. To the good of its interests, like many other countries, Saudi Arabia is drifting to further cooperation with China as the world's biggest oil consumer in the foreseeable future.
Under the leadership of bin Salman, Saudi Arabia has pursued ambitious economic policies that require cooperation with the world's economic giants, importing top technologies, and most importantly, huge investments, most of which should be provided through the sale of as much oil as possible at a higher price. This makes inevitable closer relations with China as the biggest oil purchaser and the driving force of the future global economic growth and with Russia as the biggest non-OPEC oil producer.
Still, the Saudis are expected to continue their close relations with the US and the West as a whole. Their joint military operations and training are ongoing as planned, weapons sales to Saudi Arabia have not stopped even in words, their space cooperation has upgraded to a new stage with sending two Saudi astronauts to the International Space Station, the huge Saudi investments in the US continue, and their cooperation on regional and international cases are constant. They, for example, brokered a peace deal between warring Sudani sides and Saudi Arabia invited Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to the Arab League summit in Riyadh Last month.
Biden tries to keep Riyadh as a close West Asian ally beside Washington and needs Saudi Arabia for advancing the Arab-Israeli normalization as the biggest foreign policy accomplishment before stepping in the election race and also for stabilizing the energy market. On the other side, bin Salman is well aware of the influence of the White House games in Arab Peninsula’s rule and power and watches the American developments with sensitivity to secure the throne. However, what is certain is that neither Saudi Arabia is that past intimate place for the White House officials nor Saudi rulers are interested anymore to be that past milk caw to the US leaders.
