Joe Biden to 'recalibrate' relations with Saudi Arabia downgrading Crown Prince

US President Joe Biden is going to “recalibrate” relationship with Saudi Arabia and will emphasize outreach to King Salman, Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on February 16. The latest move by the Biden administration signals a downgrade in ties with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who is the country's de facto ruler. It is also a sign that the new US administration is taking a different track from former President Donald Trump towards the world’s largest oil exporter. It is worth noting that Trump had established close ties with Prince Mohammed and even made Saudi Arabia the centrepiece of his strategy toward the Middle East. 

However, Psaki said, “We’re going to recalibrate our relationship with Saudi Arabia. Part of that is going back to engagement counterpart-to-counterpart. The president's counterpart is King Salman”. 

Ever since Biden took Office, the US has already put a hold on some key weapons sales to the Kingdom and even announced new efforts to bring an end to the Saudi-led war in Yemen. The Biden administration also said that the United States would elevate diplomatic ties in order to end the war through the appointment of a Yemen envoy. Biden has even called on Saudi Arabia to improve its human rights record. 

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Relations will be ‘more structured’ 

Now, the latest changes mean that the US-Saudi relations will return to “more structured, routine channels”. According to Bloomberg, Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a former Mideast official at the State Department, called the recent move by the US a “slapdown of MBS” and added that under him the US views Saudi as “reckless and ruthless”. A White House official also said that Psaki’s comment signals a return to the long-standing diplomatic process. 

It is worth noting that instead of engaging primarily with Biden, the crown prince’s most appropriate counterpart is Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin. MBS’ official role is deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister and additionally, he also has a vast range of responsibilities as heir to the throne his father has held since 2015. The crown prince even became a pariah in much of office Washington after the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. 

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