JERUSALEM, Israel – President Joe Biden said Saturday a potential trip to Saudi Arabia would focus primarily on national security issues facing Israel and the Saudi kingdom.
When asked by reporters if he has decided whether to visit Saudi Arabia, Biden replied, “Not yet.” He said any trip to the kingdom would focus on national security concerns rather than energy.
“The commitments from the Saudis don’t relate to anything having to do with energy,” Biden told reporters. “It happens to be a larger meeting taking place in Saudi Arabia. That’s the reason I’m going,” he said. “And it has to do with national security for them, for Israelis… It has to do with much larger issues than having to do with the energy piece.”
Biden’s comments came as the national average for gas prices rose about $5 a gallon for the first time this weekend. The price of gas is a major contributor to the highest inflation in the US in 40 years. Some analysts believe Biden hopes Saudi Arabia can help lower the price of gas by increasing the supply of oil.
The White House is expected to formally announce the president’s visit to Saudi Arabia this week, and confirmed with Axios that Biden will travel to Israel and the Saudi kingdom in July.
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The report also cited unnamed Israeli officials who said Biden will visit Israel and the Palestinian Authority on July 14 and 15 before jetting off to Saudi Arabia. The Israelis warned that the official dates could change.
President Biden has previously vowed to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” for its human rights violations and for the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
However, US officials have signaled they need to work with Saudi Arabia to address rising oil costs and Iran’s expanding nuclear program.
“I am not gonna change my views on human rights but, as president of the US, my job is to try to bring peace if I can,” said Biden.
Both Israel and Saudi Arabia are working to counter Iran’s influence in the region and view its nuclear program as a threat. Israel’s prime minister warned in an interview published Saturday that Iran is “dangerously close” to a nuclear weapon.
Recently, Iran has been trying to conceal its nuclear activities by turning off more than two dozen surveillance cameras at nuclear sites across the country.
The UN’s nuclear watchdog agency said last week that Iran will have enough enriched material to build a nuclear bomb “in a matter of weeks,” though developing the capabilities to build a bomb and attach it to a warhead will likely take more time.
While Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, analysts fear a nuclear Iran could further destabilize the Middle East.
Biden said on Saturday that a trip to the region would focus on bringing “more peace and stability to the Middle East.”
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