Biden, Take Note: Saudi Crown Prince Maneuvers Himself Out of ‘Pariah’ Status

As President Biden reportedly toils to coax the Saudi crown prince into signing a peace treaty with Israel, Britain is rolling out the red carpet for the Riyadh royal, effectively ending his international “pariah” status. Prime Minister Sunak and the de-facto Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, known as MbS, spoke on the phone Thursday, a day after the London Times reported that 10 Downing Street is inviting the crown prince for a visit in the fall that would include a meeting with King Charles. No final date has been set for the visit. As the Times noted, MbS has not been in England since March 2018, six months before the grotesque murder and dismembering of journalist-activist Jamal Khashoggi, an affair that became a rallying cry for human rights activists and Washington politicos. During his 2020 presidential campaign, Mr. Biden vowed to turn MbS into a “pariah.”Often described as young, inexperienced, and volatile, Prince Mohammed nevertheless is emerging as a wily global operator, painstakingly working to turn himself and the Kingdom into top global players. Through several strategic maneuvers he is forcing even his most avid detractors to come kiss his ring, or, in Mr. Biden’s case, perform the world’s most famous fist bump.Mr. Biden’s Mideast policy revolves around Saudi Arabia these days. The White House touts National Security Adviser Jacob Sullivan’s promotion of a Saudi-Israeli peace treaty. While many complexities remain, Mr. Biden hopes that the publicity surrounding his peace drive will help brandish his iffy foreign policy bona fides in next year’s presidential election. Britain, meanwhile, is struggling with a ho-hum economy. Even after falling in July, inflation remains at 6.8 percent. As the Tory government is scrambling to cut international post-Brexit trade deals, wealthy Gulf countries increasingly look attractive.Negotiations have already begun over creating a free-trade zone between Britain and the Riyadh-led Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain. The deal could add $2 billion annually to the British economy, according to the Times. “The prime minister and crown prince said they would continue working closely together to progress UK-Saudi cooperation and looked forward to meeting in person at the earliest opportunity,” Mr. Sunak’s office said Thursday in a readout of their phone call.“The leaders discussed their commitment to further develop our trade and investment relationship, including by collaborating in new cutting-edge industries, and to strengthen our close cooperation on defense and security,” the statement added. With his “Vision 2030” program, Prince Mohammed has vowed to veer the Saudi economy away from oil, promoting entertainment, high-tech ventures, and other emerging industries. Criticism of MbS’s British rehabilitation is abound. A writer for the Spectator, Jabad Iqbal, sums it up by paraphrasing a British television comedian, known as Mrs. Merton, asking Mr. Sunak, “What first attracted you to this stupendously wealthy Saudi leader?”Opposition politicians are incensed. “This man, who authorized the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi and presides over a dismal human rights record, should not be receiving a warm welcome from the U.K. government,” a Liberal Democrats spokeswoman, Lyla Moran, told Sky news. Riyadh has purchased British sport franchises like soccer’s Newcastle United and racing’s Formula One, raising the ire of some fans. Yet, beyond throwing around his country’s petro-based wealth, Prince Mohammed has taken several steps that forced detractors to rethink the Khashoggi affair. Internally, MbS has rid the Kingdom of some of its most onerous Islamist rules — even beyond ending driving bans on women. Young Kuwaitis are currently making day trips to Saudi Arabia to watch the Hollywood hit “Barbie,” which their country has banned; Riyadh, after a short debate, limited it to viewers over the age of 15. More importantly, MbS made some shrewd moves on the international scene. He refused to listen to Mr. Biden’s pleas to lower oil prices, reminding Washington the importance of staying on Riyadh’s good side. His cozying up to Communist China helped Mr. Biden to recognize that he needs to end his enmity to the crown prince. Earlier this month President Zelensky of Ukraine traveled to Jeddah for a multi-country conference on the war, which excluded Russia. The event further consolidated Prince Mohammed’s rising-star status in the West. The British and Saudi leaders “agreed on the importance of allies working together to end the bloodshed in Ukraine and support a just and lasting peace,” Mr. Sunak’s office said Thursday.The British royals have long been cozy with their Riyadh counterparts, and King Charles is especially fond of the house of Saud. Yet, lawsuits against MbS in a country that boasts of universal jurisdiction for war crimes and torture could still complicate his visit.Regardless, the crown prince is by now a crucial Mideast and global player. More and more world leaders realize that shunning and caricaturing him as merely a blood-thursty tyrant is no longer an option.

Biden, Take Note: Saudi Crown Prince Maneuvers Himself Out of ‘Pariah’ Status

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