As of: 07/15/2022 7:34 p.m
After his stay in Israel, US President Biden traveled to Saudi Arabia. The reception by Crown Prince bin Salman remained cool, with King Salman more points were booked for the diplomatic account.
US President Joe Biden has arrived in Saudi Arabia. The public part of the meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was cold. Upon arriving at the royal palace in the coastal city of Jeddah, the two politicians only briefly banged their fists. After that, they walked on without further conversation.
Before the start of the trip to the Middle East, the White House had announced that Biden wanted to avoid physical contact as much as possible. The official reason given was the corona virus. “We try to minimize contact as much as possible,” emphasized Bidens spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre on board the presidential plane. Some US journalists, on the other hand, speculated that photos of a handshake with the crown prince should be avoided. This is criticized, among other things, because of the poor human rights situation in Saudi Arabia.
Shake hands with the king
The journalists’ suspicions appeared to be true a little later: when meeting King Salman in the evening, the two heads of state shook hands for several seconds.
Such gestures always play a major role in international diplomacy. With his trip to Saudi Arabia, Biden wants to get bilateral relations out of the crisis.
No comparison to Trump
Overall, the reception for Biden in Saudi Arabia has remained cool compared to his predecessor, Donald Trump. Trump had already been welcomed by King Salman at the airport in 2017, later Trump made a contribution to a saber dance and bowed deeply to the ruler. The visit was full of warm and generous gestures.
Dealing with Biden is more reminiscent of the visit of Barack Obama, who was received in Riyadh in 2016 by the local governor Prince Faisal bin Bandar Al Saud. Obama’s arrival was also not broadcast on Saudi state television, as is usual.
During his trip to Saudi Arabia, then-President Trump joined the dance with a saber.
Image: AP
Euphoria in Israel
Biden’s reception in Jeddah also contrasted sharply with his visit to Israel, where President Izchak Herzog and Prime Minister Jair Lapid received him with a formal ceremony. Even the former prime minister and current opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to the airport – and shook hands with Biden there.