Saudi Arabia tries to shed 'pariah status,' remaking itself as a key middleman in global conflicts
Saudi Arabia will host a key summit Tuesday between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Saudi Arabia will host a key summit Tuesday attended by both Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is trying to repair relations with Washington after his disastrous Oval Office bust-up with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
It’s another soft-power coup for Saudi Arabia, which has deliberately cultivated a reputation as a diplomatic go-between. Whether it’s hosting American officials for negotiations to end the Ukraine war, orchestrating talks about the future of Gaza or rolling out the red carpet for Trump’s first foreign trip, Saudi Arabia has emerged in recent years as an unlikely global power broker.
Less than five years ago, presidential candidate Joe Biden called the kingdom a “pariah,” and, even after significant reforms, rights groups say the authoritarian Gulf state still has an “abysmal” human rights record.
The talks in the coastal city of Jeddah are emblematic of the rebranding effort choreographed by powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington last month.Anna Moneymaker / Getty ImagesMBS, as he is widely known, is trying to transform Saudi Arabia’s image from the deeply conservative, oil-rich theocracy whose officials murdered the American-based Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 into a regional giant built on diplomacy, business, tourism, entertainment and sports.
Rating: 5