Biden: Jordan’s king is a loyal ally in a ‘tough neighborhood’
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden praised Jordan’s King Abdullah II as a stalwart ally in a “tough neighborhood” as the two leaders huddled at the White House on Monday, a meeting that came at a pivotal moment for both leaders in the Middle East.
Last week, a Jordanian state security court sentenced two former officials to 15 years in prison over an alleged plot against the king uncovered earlier this year that involved King Abdullah’s half-brother.
Meanwhile, Mr. Biden, who has put much of his foreign policy focus on China and Russia in the early going, faces some difficult issues in the Middle East. He is dealing with stepped- up attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militias at the same moment his administration is trying to nudge Iran back to the negotiating table to revive the nuclear agreement Donald Trump abandoned during his presidency.
“You have always been there, and we will always be there for Jordan,” Mr. Biden said during an Oval Office meeting with King Abdullah and his son, the Crown Prince Hussein.
King Abdullah had a difficult relationship with Mr. Trump, whom he saw as undercutting any chance for a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians with his 2017 declaration of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. He also chaffed at the Trump administration’s pursuit of what officials called the Abraham Accords — deals with Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan and Morocco that normalized relations with Israel but left out the Palestinians.
Mr. Biden has no plans to reverse U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital. His administration has even praised the Trump-brokered accords — a rare instance of the Democratic administration speaking positively of the former administration.
Mr. Biden planned to stress to King Abdullah in private the accords are not an “end run” on finding the way to a peace deal that includes a Palestinian state, according to a senior administration official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
King Abdullah, for his part, praised Mr. Biden for “setting the standard” internationally in the battle against COVID-19. The U.S. delivered 500,000 vaccines to Jordan days ahead of the king’s visit. The king also appeared to make clear he was looking to reset the U.S.-Jordan relationship after four bumpy years with Mr. Trump.
“You can always count on me, my country and many of our colleagues in the region,” King Abdullah said.
The two leaders discussed the situation in Syria — more than 1 million Syrian refugees have fled the warravaged nation for Jordan — and a wobbly security situation in Iraq, an administration official said. At least eight drone attacks have targeted the U.S. military presence in Iraq since Mr. Biden took office in January, as well as 17 rocket attacks.
King Abdullah is set to have a working breakfast Tuesday with Vice President Kamala Harris and to meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The meeting with Mr. Biden was also a chance for the king to spotlight his closeness to Mr. Biden following the attempted coup.
Bassem Awadallah, who has U.S. citizenship and once served as a top aide to King Abdullah II, and Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, a member of the royal family, were found guilty of sedition and incitement charges. Both men denied the charges and Awadallah’s U.S. lawyer said his client alleged he was tortured in Jordanian detention and fears for his life.