At regional summit, Biden says US won't leave West Asia

US President Joe Biden has said America would not leave the West Asian region, saying any vacuum left would be filled by Washington's rivals.

Speaking in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, Biden also accused Iran of destabilizing activities in West Asia.

Biden warned the Arab states participating in the PGCC+3 summit in the Saudi port city of Jeddah of efforts by certain countries to undermine "the rules-based order."

"Around the world, we’re seeing efforts to undermine the rules-based order: with China’s increasingly coercive actions in the Indo-Pacific and beyond; with Russia’s brutal and unprovoked war against its neighboring Ukraine; and with Iran’s destabilizing activities," Biden claimed.

He said "American leadership" will run the "new 'rules-based' world order."

The US president said Washington will not leave any space to be filled by Washington's rivals.

“We will not walk away and leave a vacuum to be filled by China, Russia, or Iran,” Biden insisted.

Biden said that he now aimed to use his joint meeting with some of the Arab state heads as an opportunity to assert US leadership not only over the region, but also to the other regions across the globe.

“We will seek to build on this moment with active, principled, American leadership,” he asserted.

The summit brought together Biden with the heads of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq.

The summit's host, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman [MBS] claimed the meeting was held "at a time when the world is witnessing great challenges."

MBS, who had been denounced by Biden as a "pariah", paradoxically, urged Middle East powerhouse Iran to cooperate, yet “not to interfere in regional affairs."

SS