President Joe Biden is recalibrating US diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia and using a new approach that includes circumventing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has had a close relationship with the Trump administration.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday that Biden would work directly with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
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“We have made it clear from the outset that we are going to recalibrate our relationship with Saudi Arabia,” Psaki said on Tuesday.
But because the Biden government is reevaluating its US relationship with Saudi Arabia, Russia is working to expand its ties with the oil-rich Gulf nation.
President Vladimir Putin and the crown prince addressed their continued coordination on stabilizing oil and energy markets in a call on Monday, according to a statement from the Kremlin.
They further discussed the promotion of their mutual cooperation in trade, investment and the economy, together with Saudi Arabia’s possible dependence on Russian-made vaccines to counter the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden, who spoke with Putin, has not spoken to any Middle Eastern countries since taking office in late January, including Israel.
Although the White House said Israel should expect a call soon, the same could not be said for Saudi Arabia.
“The president’s counterpart is King Salman, and I expect him to speak to him at the right time,” Psaki told reporters on Tuesday, adding that she could not confirm when the call would take place.
Biden’s detrimental attitude towards the crown prince is a shift from the previous presidency.
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Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia during his first foreign trip as president and did not sour the Arab nation after the assassination of Saudi indigenous and American-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Khashoggi, a contributor to the Washington Post, was assassinated by Saudi security officials in 2018, although the alleged ties to Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MbS, had no bearing on President Trump’s relationship with the crown prince.
Jared Kushner, a senior adviser to Trump, maintained diplomatic relations with MbS – who is believed to be the successor to his 85-year-old father, King Salman – during the government’s attempt to normalize diplomatic ties with Israel.
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“This president … does not look at the last presidency as the model for his foreign policy to move forward,” Psaki told reporters on Tuesday.