TEHRAN - (Xinhua) Days after US President Joe Biden concluded his first tour in the Middle East with the aim of mobilizing support, the region witnessed a set of regional developments, which showed the regional countries' relentless pursuit of strategic independence and their tiredness of US interference.

After Biden's visit, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Iran, accompanied by Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, chose Paris, instead of Washington, as the destination for his first visit abroad, while Tehran and Riyadh agreed to hold general reconciliation talks. .

Analysts say that behind these moves are joint efforts for development and security by regional countries, as they seek to restore their own strategic independence that was overshadowed by American influence.

Refusal to take sides

As the Ukraine crisis continues to escalate, most countries in the Middle East have refused to join the "anti-Russian camp" led by the United States, showing disunity between them. For example, in February, the UAE abstained from voting in favor of a US-backed resolution condemning Russia in the UN Security Council.

On the energy issue, the United States and Britain urge oil-rich countries in the Middle East to increase oil production in order to reduce oil prices and ease the energy crisis, to create political space for more pressure on Russia.

However, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have not shown much interest in cooperating with the United States on oil matters, as such a move undermines their national interests. Riyadh has repeatedly said that oil production in the kingdom will not be increased until an agreement is reached with its OPEC+ partners during the next meeting in August.

Fan Hongda, a professor at the Institute of Middle East Studies at Shanghai International Studies University in China, said that Middle Eastern countries have shown "increasing confidence in confronting world powers," adding that traditional energy powers in the Middle East are "increasing rapidly" and their voices are being heard in the international arena. .

winds of reconciliation
Biden's first trip to the Middle East was aimed at mobilizing support to confront what he described as "Iranian threats", but at best the actual achievement was not fully achieved. Despite Washington's escalation of the Iranian threat, Iraq recently said that it intends to host a "public" meeting between Iran and Saudi Arabia at the level of foreign ministers as part of the successive reconciliation talks mediated by Baghdad.

This possible normalization of Iranian-Saudi relations is part of a broader reconciliation process in the region, as countries, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt, seek to adjust their foreign policies and heal the rift in their relations after years of hostility.

For a long time, the United States has been trying to enhance its regional influence by provoking confrontation between blocs, and exploiting the strained relations between regional countries to intervene, but the countries of the Middle East have widely realized that this is contrary to the interests of the region, according to politicians and analysts.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said recently that "dialogue is the best policy to address existing tensions," adding that "the region suffers from enough crises and we do not want more tensions."

Professor Fan said that in parallel with reducing tensions, development is "increasingly important" on the national agenda of Middle Eastern countries, and regional countries are working to enhance cooperation with each other to achieve development.

Middle East awakening

Speaking at a summit with Arab leaders as part of his latest tour, Biden said that the United States "will not turn away" from the Middle East and leave the so-called "vacuum" for other major countries to fill.

However, such statements by Biden reflect "serious problems with the current perception of the Middle East in the United States," and "always vigilant Middle Eastern countries deliberately seek to eliminate or limit the influence of world powers on the region."

Professor Fan said that the Middle East is being reshaped, and this process is characterized by a greater role for the countries of the region.

Meanwhile, in order to gain autonomy, the oil-rich economies of the Middle East have sought to diversify their economies and reduce their dependence on hydrocarbons over the past few years, in order to enhance their risk tolerance.

"Foreign powers have a deep economic, political and military footprint in the region. Economically independent states of the Middle East have the ability to challenge entrenched patterns of external domination and undermine the long legacy of divide and rule," wrote Adil Malik, an economist at Oxford University.