Mohamed Ben Salmane, the crown prince and head of government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not go to Algiers for the Arab League summit. He announced it by telephone conversation to the President of Algeria. This is already a problem for Abdelmajid Tebboun who wanted to exploit this summit to build his legitimacy. But that's not the worst part.
The Algerian presidency: "The President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, this evening received a telephone call from his brother, His Highness Prince Mohammed Ben Salmane, Crown Prince of the brother Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister, in which he expressed his regret at not being able to attend the Arab League summit to be held on November 1 in Algeria".
At this stage, everything is fine, nothing abnormal or worrying. So far, no indication of the causes of this absence. It won't be long since just afterwards, the press release from the Republic of Algeria adds these words which will have serious consequences: "... in accordance with the recommendations of the doctors who advise against the trip".
For a normal person, nothing serious, it won't change the world.
But this is the Crown Prince and head of government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia... big deal. And therefore, announcing that Mohamed Ben Salmane (MBS) is sick is not nothing. Such information can have political and economic repercussions both in Saudi Arabia and around the world. Especially at this time, when the issue of energy in the context of the war in Ukraine is of concern to all countries.
The case is therefore serious. So serious that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, a few minutes after the Algerian press release, broadcast another on its social networks, announcing the telephone conversation but without mentioning any medical impediment.
Is the Algerian presidency aware of the enormity of its blunder, knowing that MBS is the real leader of the kingdom? Obviously not, otherwise it would have known how to avoid it. Now it is the Saudis who are wondering about the health of their Crown Prince and it is not good to be informed by a foreign country. Nobody accepts it.
It is true, however, that the leaders of Algeria have the habit of tampering with the press releases after their meetings with foreign officials. They almost always add the little phrase that enhances the event to their advantage. The United States, which knows this very well, is taking its precautions. When Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visited Algeria, his department released President Tebboune's full statement. No more way to insert the slightest comma.
Now what will happen for this summit? The Algerians are wondering who will represent Saudi Arabia, the Minister of Foreign Affairs or would the country be satisfied with its ambassador in Algiers, knowing that three other heads of state have announced their absence, such as those of Oman, Bahrain and Lebanon.
But the big question that has been at the head of the news in recent weeks concerns the presence or not of King Mohammed VI. Apart from information in foreign media, nothing allows us to know. The summit is in 10 days but several political analysts express doubts about its holding given the position of Algeria vis-à-vis certain questions in contradiction with those of the countries of the League.
Not to mention the maneuvers against Morocco, Algeria displeases Egypt by its rapprochement with Ethiopia on the question of the waters of the Nile; she frequents Iran too much, which sets fire to several Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia attacked by the Houtis of Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and which tries to do the same in Morocco by supporting the separatists sheltered, housed, fed and armed by Algeria.
The funny thing is that Algeria declares that it wants, through this summit, to bring the Arab nation together. Curious way to gather.
We can also add the alignment of Algiers with Moscow, which greatly irritates the American Administration, which thinks that the huge purchases of Russian weapons by Algeria are a contribution to the financing of the war against Ukraine. And since Algiers has tripled its 2023 military budget ($32 billion), the film has only just begun.
By Hakim Arif
Source : https://lobservateur.info/
L’Observateur du Maroc et d’Afrique (MAROC)
