Berliner Boersenzeitung - Trump looms over Saudi-hosted meeting on Mideast wars

EUR -
AED 3.896782
AFN 71.970942
ALL 98.005181
AMD 410.245014
ANG 1.910392
AOA 969.150107
ARS 1058.535585
AUD 1.625105
AWG 1.911243
AZN 1.804916
BAM 1.952226
BBD 2.140282
BDT 126.668083
BGN 1.954125
BHD 0.39988
BIF 3130.34894
BMD 1.060918
BND 1.418709
BOB 7.350404
BRL 6.098794
BSD 1.060009
BTN 89.509273
BWP 14.421276
BYN 3.468912
BYR 20793.984215
BZD 2.136589
CAD 1.480871
CDF 3043.772641
CHF 0.937002
CLF 0.037907
CLP 1045.969635
CNY 7.661842
COP 4706.760764
CRC 542.432423
CUC 1.060918
CUP 28.114315
CVE 110.062449
CZK 25.385671
DJF 188.763289
DKK 7.459582
DOP 63.876059
DZD 141.570939
EGP 52.207642
ETB 131.000325
FJD 2.400856
GBP 0.832847
GEL 2.906642
GHS 17.277204
GMD 75.853327
GNF 9135.746941
GTQ 8.190926
GYD 221.749817
HKD 8.252734
HNL 26.751282
HTG 139.425239
HUF 411.004238
IDR 16737.512871
ILS 3.989583
INR 89.539798
IQD 1388.583814
IRR 44669.934186
ISK 147.520817
JMD 168.439542
JOD 0.752299
JPY 164.527633
KES 137.06364
KGS 91.448653
KHR 4295.439124
KMF 488.419938
KRW 1493.349953
KWD 0.326234
KYD 0.883299
KZT 526.01683
LAK 23242.540542
LBP 94922.679318
LKR 309.967089
LRD 199.802298
LSL 19.152137
LTL 3.132613
LVL 0.641738
LYD 5.135839
MAD 10.515649
MDL 18.974154
MGA 4955.161109
MKD 61.501816
MMK 3445.818857
MOP 8.49301
MRU 42.123861
MUR 50.064526
MVR 16.402021
MWK 1837.721918
MXN 21.861851
MYR 4.72746
MZN 67.819132
NAD 19.151596
NGN 1778.681478
NIO 39.010598
NOK 11.769899
NPR 143.222523
NZD 1.790898
OMR 0.408483
PAB 1.059939
PEN 4.005911
PGK 4.258364
PHP 62.296049
PKR 294.599601
PLN 4.351472
PYG 8282.226373
QAR 3.864488
RON 4.975918
RSD 116.986352
RUB 103.700317
RWF 1454.705134
SAR 3.986063
SBD 8.859994
SCR 14.916358
SDG 638.142533
SEK 11.580918
SGD 1.420892
SLE 24.18896
SOS 605.819355
SRD 37.381452
STD 21958.851549
SVC 9.275193
SZL 19.142853
THB 36.855747
TJS 11.267165
TMT 3.713211
TND 3.332367
TOP 2.48477
TRY 36.47689
TTD 7.203151
TWD 34.468683
TZS 2825.997726
UAH 43.903187
UGX 3894.795581
USD 1.060918
UYU 44.68818
UZS 13571.98253
VES 47.606636
VND 26894.260197
XAF 654.789004
XCD 2.867183
XDR 0.798576
XOF 654.789004
XPF 119.331742
YER 264.990671
ZAR 19.19911
ZMK 9549.525686
ZMW 28.858523
ZWL 341.615022
  • RELX

    -1.2100

    46.59

    -2.6%

  • VOD

    -0.8500

    8.47

    -10.04%

  • BTI

    0.0900

    35.24

    +0.26%

  • RBGPF

    59.3400

    59.34

    +100%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0500

    7.11

    -0.7%

  • CMSC

    -0.1800

    24.54

    -0.73%

  • NGG

    -1.2400

    62.9

    -1.97%

  • AZN

    0.4000

    65.19

    +0.61%

  • SCS

    0.0200

    13.67

    +0.15%

  • JRI

    -0.3000

    13.22

    -2.27%

  • BCC

    -2.0100

    141.13

    -1.42%

  • GSK

    -0.8300

    35.52

    -2.34%

  • BP

    -0.7600

    28.16

    -2.7%

  • BCE

    -0.1600

    27.69

    -0.58%

  • CMSD

    -0.2100

    24.75

    -0.85%

  • RIO

    -1.4000

    61.2

    -2.29%

Trump looms over Saudi-hosted meeting on Mideast wars
Trump looms over Saudi-hosted meeting on Mideast wars / Photo: - - SAUDI MEDIA MINISTRY/AFP

Trump looms over Saudi-hosted meeting on Mideast wars

Arab and Muslim leaders gather in Saudi Arabia Monday for a summit addressing the wars in Gaza and Lebanon, a chance to send a message to US President-elect Donald Trump.

Text size:

The Saudi foreign ministry announced plans for the summit in late October during a meeting, also in Riyadh, of a new "international alliance" to press for the establishment of a Palestinian state.

It comes one year after a similar gathering in Riyadh of the Cairo-based Arab League and the Jeddah-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation during which leaders condemned Israeli forces' actions in Gaza as "barbaric".

This time around, Trump's election last week for a second term in the White House is likely to be on leaders' minds, said Anna Jacobs, senior Gulf analyst for the International Crisis Group think tank.

"This summit is very much an opportunity for regional leaders to signal to the incoming Trump administration what they want in terms of US engagement," she said.

"The message will likely be one of dialogue, de-escalation and calling out Israeli military campaigns in the region."

The war in Gaza erupted with Hamas's unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7 last year, which resulted in 1,206 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed more than 43,600 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to data from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.

Lebanon-based Hezbollah, which like Hamas is backed by Iran, began firing on Israel after the October 7 attack. The regular cross-border exchanges escalated in late September when Israel intensified its air strikes and sent ground troops into southern Lebanon.

Despite criticism of the impact Israel's military campaign has had on Gaza civilians, outgoing US President Joe Biden ensured that Washington remained Israel's most important military backer during more than a year of fighting.

- 'Rely on the Saudis' -

In his first term, Trump's actions showed him as an even firmer supporter of Israel. He defied international consensus by recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moving Washington's embassy there.

He also endorsed Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law.

Under the Abraham Accords, Trump oversaw the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as well as Morocco.

Though Saudi Arabia did not join those agreements, Trump cultivated warm ties with the Gulf kingdom while in office and has deepened his business connections to the region during the Biden years.

Saudi Arabia has pressed pause on a US-brokered deal where it would recognise Israel in return for security and economic benefits, insisting there will be no diplomatic ties without a Palestinian state.

Umer Karim, an expert on Saudi politics at the University of Birmingham, said Riyadh will use Monday's summit to signal to the incoming Trump team that it remains a strong partner.

The message is that Trump "can rely on the Saudis as being representatives of the Muslim world", and that "if you want to extend American interests in the region, Saudi Arabia is your bet", he said.

The 57-member OIC and 22-member Arab League include countries which recognise Israel and those firmly opposed to its regional integration.

Last year's summit in Riyadh saw disagreement on measures like severing economic and diplomatic ties with Israel and disrupting its oil supplies.

Karim said the post-summit statement on Monday will likely "strongly condemn Israel... while also pushing for greater American leverage and diplomacy on the issue."

The November 2023 meeting featured an appearance by Iran's then-president Ebrahim Raisi, highlighting how regional diplomacy has changed since Trump was last in office.

In March 2023, Iran and Saudi Arabia announced a China-brokered rapprochement after seven years of severed ties. The Middle East heavyweights have maintained regular high-level contact as part of efforts to contain the ongoing conflicts.

Iranian state media said the chief of staff of the Saudi armed forces was to arrive in Tehran Sunday for talks, a rare high-level visit.

(F.Schuster--BBZ)