(JIM WATSON AFP/File / MANILA BULLETIN)
Leaders of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council were quick to formally congratulate Biden, who was sworn into office Wednesday in a ceremony boycotted by his predecessor Donald Trump.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan voiced optimism that relations between Riyadh and Washington will be “excellent” under Biden.
The appointments made by Biden for his new administration “showed (an) understanding of the common issues”, Prince Faisal told Al-Arabiya television, without elaborating.
Prince Faisal’s comments comes despite Biden’s pledge during his election campaign to treat the kingdom as a “pariah” over its human rights failings and to end US support to a Saudi-led military campaign in war-ravaged Yemen.
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US President Joe Biden delivers his inauguration speech on January 20, 2021, at the US Capitol in Washington. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Newspapers in Arab states of the Gulf on Thursday gave a cautious welcome to new US President Joe Biden, amid uncertainty over whether he will seek to re-engage with regional rival Iran.
Leaders of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council with the exception of Saudi Arabia and Oman were quick to formally congratulate Biden, who was sworn into office Wednesday in a ceremony boycotted by his predecessor Donald Trump.
“Goodbye Trump, hello Biden,” Saudi columnist Abdulrahman Al-Rashed wrote in the pan-Arab daily Asharq Al-Awsat.