Trump caps Gulf tour with America-first policy for peace in Middle East, South Asia
Trump’s vision sits well with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, two Gulf nations closest to Washington, but its feasibility remains to be determined, analysts say
US President Donald Trump wrapped up a tour of three Gulf monarchies on Friday after laying out a dollar-driven agenda for peace in the Middle East and South Asia which analysts said contained measures that aimed to curtail Chinese influence in these regions.
The highlight of Trump’s three-day visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates was his decision to lift sanctions against Syria’s new administration at the behest of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, despite intense opposition from Israel and its many supporters in Congress.
Eschewing the interventionist policies of his Republican and Democrat predecessors alike, the America-first policy for the Middle East Trump presented in Riyadh on Tuesday instead envisioned a region stabilised by coordination between Washington’s major regional partners.
Iran could join in if its leadership agreed to strike a deal that satisfied US concerns about its nuclear programme, Trump said, while India and Pakistan would have to settle their differences under American mediation.
“Trump is distinguishing himself from neoconservatives who constantly seek endless wars in the Middle East and elsewhere,” said Giorgio Cafiero, CEO of Washington-based risk consultancy Gulf State Analytics.