Trump caps Gulf tour with America-first policy for peace in Middle East, South Asia
US President Donald Trump wrapped up a tour of three Gulf monarchies on Friday after laying out a dollar-driven agenda for peace in the Middle East and South Asia which analysts said contained measures that aimed to curtail Chinese influence in these regions.
The highlight of Trump's three-day visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates was his decision to lift sanctions against Syria's new administration at the behest of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, despite intense opposition from Israel and its many supporters in Congress.
Eschewing the interventionist policies of his Republican and Democrat predecessors alike, the America-first policy for the Middle East Trump presented in Riyadh on Tuesday instead envisioned a region stabilised by coordination between Washington's major regional partners.
Iran could join in if its leadership agreed to strike a deal that satisfied US concerns about its nuclear programme, Trump said, while India and Pakistan would have to settle their differences under American mediation.
US President Donald J Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a bilateral meeting at the Saudi Royal Court on Tuesday, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Photo: TNS
'Trump is distinguishing himself from neoconservatives who constantly seek endless wars in the Middle East and elsewhere,' said Giorgio Cafiero, CEO of Washington-based risk consultancy Gulf State Analytics.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
17 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
With rage and humour, WorldPride rally takes aim at Trump in Washington
LGBTQ people and their allies gathered on Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, site of Martin Luther King's 1963 'I Have a Dream' speech, to rally for preserving decades of progress while protesting setbacks under US President Donald Trump. After the festive nature of a parade on Saturday through the streets of the capital, the rally, one of the main events of the weeks-long WorldPride celebration, turned more overtly political. Taking place in cities around the world every two years, WorldPride is taking place in Washington at a time of high tension over LGBTQ rights in the United States. Speakers evoked outrage, humour and upbeat messages, criticising Trump for issuing executive orders limiting transgender rights, banning transgender people from serving in the armed forces and rescinding anti-discrimination policies for LGBTQ people. They also had an eye on demonstrations taking place on the other side of the country in Los Angeles, where the Trump administration has summoned the National Guard to confront protesters who have opposed federal raids detaining immigrants. 'This is not just a party. This is a rally for our lives,' Ashley Smith, president of the Capital Pride Alliance board and a WorldPride organiser, told the crowd of several hundred people. 'LGBTQI+ people are under siege, especially our trans siblings, who are being targeted by legislation, rhetoric and violence in every region, and immigrants, refugees and undocumented folks living in fear of deportation.'
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Washington Pride attendees march in defiance of Trump's rollback of queer rights
LGBTQ+ people from around the world will march through the streets of Washington on Saturday in a joyful celebration meant to show defiance to President Donald Trump's rollback of queer rights. The parade route will come within one block of the White House grounds in one of the final main events of the weeks-long WorldPride celebration. On Sunday, a more political event, dubbed a rally and march, will convene at the Lincoln Memorial, a revered space in the US civil rights movement as the site of Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech in 1963. Events will play out in the US capital in the wake of the Trump administration's measures to curtail LGBTQ+ rights. The Republican president has issued executive orders limiting transgender rights, banning transgender people from serving in the armed forces, and rescinding anti-discrimination policies for LGBTQ+ people as part of a campaign to repeal diversity, equity and inclusion programmes. While proponents of DEI consider it necessary to correct historic inequities, the White House has described it as a form of discrimination based on race or gender and said its transgender policy protects women by keeping transgender women out of shared spaces. Moreover, the White House said it has appointed a number of openly gay people to cabinet posts or judgeships, and noted that the Trump administration took steps to decriminalise homosexuality globally, and that its 2019 initiative 'Ending the HIV Epidemic' aimed to cut HIV infections by 90 per cent by 2030.
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- South China Morning Post
China's increased training of African military, arms sales and aid ‘concerns' US
An increasing number of African military officers receiving training in China has concerned the Pentagon, with a top US military chief saying the PLA was replicating its training programmes for African personnel. General Michael Langley, who leads the US Africa Command (AFRICOM), warned that China was replicating its training programmes such as its US International Military Education and Training (IMET), which provides grant-based training to foreign military and civilian personnel. 'They're [China] trying to replicate what we do best in our IMET programme,' Langley said on the sidelines of the Africa Chiefs of Defence Conference in Nairobi last week. The warning comes at a time when the Trump administration is shifting its approach from providing military help to pushing for African countries to be self-reliant. China is a major supplier of military equipment, especially in the Sahel, as junta-led leaders pivot from their Western partners such as the US and France IMET has seen thousands of Africans go through the programme but the move by President Donald Trump to cut foreign aid has hurt such programmes.
