Speeches by the leaders participating in the Security and Development Summit in Jeddah, including leaders of GCC, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, with the attendance of US President Joe Biden, paid special attention to conflicts in Syria, Libya, and Yemen. They discussed the need to endorse diplomatic efforts to reach political settlements, as well as the need to deescalate and prevent new rounds of conflict. Many leaders also focused on the need to strengthen joint deterrence mechanisms to deal with broader security threats at the regional level, including enhancing the security of shipping lanes, and addressing Iranian threats in the region.

Arab Leaders at the summit all without exception addressed the oldest and most protracted conflict in the region, the Palestinian issue. There was consensus in this respect on the need to reactivate the process to reach a political settlement on the grounds of the two-state solution. Thus, Arab leaders wished to express support for US expression of the same orientation, while drawing attention to the fact that there is a relevant Arab initiative on the table. Overall, the Arab leaders at the summit reflected the endorsement of establishing a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, through reviving negotiations for comprehensive peace. There was therefore a cohesive and coordinated Arab position in this regard, which appeared to be reflected in the US response, indicating support for this orientation, as expressed in the fourth article of the summit’s final statement.

 Leaders participating in the summit also agreed on the need to advance the path of political settlement in the conflicts which are currently in the stage of negotiating a political resolution, and to build on the progress already achieved in Syria and Yemen. This consensus was reflected in Article 13 regarding the situation Syria, and Article 15 regarding Libya. It is important to note that before his visit to the region, US President Joe Biden stressed, in his article published by the Washington Post, the priority of ending the political stalemate in Libya. The US – Saudi Arabia bilateral summit stressed the necessity of accelerating the Libyan elections within the framework of supporting the political process. At the summit, President Sisi implicitly indicated the priority of ending the phenomenon of militias and foreign interference in the Libyan issue.

As for the situation in Yemen, the main perspective adopted in the conference was the possibility of building on the ceasefire, in order to launch a political process to resolve the conflict, on the basis of UN frames of reference, as well as the latest initiative agreed by the GCC in Riyadh last April. Article fifteen of the statement issued by the summit called on all Yemeni parties to take advantage of the ceasefire as an opportunity to immediately start direct negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations, and as an opportunity to reinforce the relief operations to alleviate deteriorating humanitarian crises exacerbated by the war.

Pathways to political resolution

The summit reflected the existence of a consensus on a number of mechanisms through which political processes of resolution to various regional conflicts can be launched, these include:

Renouncing the search for a military resolution. The political process must be accepted as the path towards resolution, and all manifestations of militarization must be eliminated. All parties to the conflicts must be encouraged to come to the negotiating table, under the auspices of the United Nations.

Upholding the principle of sovereignty. This principle was upheld in general in reference to the role of foreign interventions in regional conflicts. The final statement touched on this in detail in reference to Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, and Sudan, given it is an indisputable precept of international law and the United Nations.

Coordination and consultation between Arab countries. Such coordination would decrease unilateral or bilateral approaches to the various conflicts, especially that political processes of conflict resolution reveal the need for collective roles. For example, the armistice in Yemen necessitated larger roles for Egypt and Jordan. In Libya, the need to coordinate parallel paths and uphold agreements also reflects this need for coordination.

Regional integration. Although the final statement included a reference to the issue of regional integration in the context of the need for development, the security dimension in undermining conflicts remains in the background. A regional development network would in turn create common interests that would help prevent the outbreak of conflicts, as – for example – the so-called Peace Pipelines project. On the other hand, in the same context, the final statement included a clear reference to the role of joint development bodies between the Arab Group (3+5) and the US.

A comprehensive concept of deterrence

The summit also adopted a more comprehensive concept of deterrence, which extends beyond simply the military component, while acknowledging the pivotal role of the US in strengthening military deterrence to deal with regional threats. These ideas were reflected in the following :

Joint regional security arrangements: These are primarily defensive arrangements and depend primarily on the previously mentioned pivotal American role in regional security coordination, in the context of US commitment of defending allies. Threats to allies’ security include drones and Iranian missiles, operations to threaten maritime security, and terrorism through increased military assets. According to summit discussions, the United States is in the process of expanding  military infrastructure with partners in the region, including advanced missile defense systems, advancing integration in the areas of air and missile defense, maritime security capabilities, early warning systems, and information exchange.

Deployment according to geopolitical threats: This is reflected in the new format of the deployment of US military in the Middle East, following the termination of its presence in Afghanistan and Iraq. Washington’s renewed awareness of the importance of the Middle East for US policy necessitates a new format for supporting its regional allies, including the need for new types of appropriate armaments. This shift does not involve basing large contingents of troops in the region, but rather a propensity for the use of rapid deployment forces from certain areas, especially near Bab al-Mandab, which previously represented a loophole in regional security.

Advanced weaponry: The US has in the past two years experimented with the use of laser weapons against air and maritime drones in Bab al-Mandab. This aspect was addressed in bilateral Saudi-US agreements, related to the development of defense capabilities. President Biden also alluded to this development in the context of his remarks on developing joint defense assets in the regional framework.

Eliminating transborder threats: These include terrorism, armed militias, and organized crime, whose transborder nature requires joint efforts to control and eliminate. Moreover, there are other non-traditional threats, related to water and energy security, security of shipping lanes, and climate change, which not only undermine human security, but also threaten to ignite new conflicts.

There are expectations that the Security and Development Summit will bring about a qualitative leap in the US-Arab strategic partnership (3+5), for dealing with regional conflicts. The summit has drawn up a roadmap for a new approach to ending regional conflicts through political means and abandoning the military option, while at the same time putting forth an emphasis on development, which is a “smart” approach to a multilateral strategic partnership.

However, implementing the approach adopted in the summit will face significant challenges. In Yemen, for example, the Houthi militia quickly reacted to the summit by hinting the truce would not be extended. This reaction is unsurprising, given the Iranian stance towards the US role in the region. There are similar challenges in Syria and Lebanon. The situation in Libya remains fluid and open to all scenarios, including a return of armed conflict. These conditions suggest the need for accelerating deterrence efforts in parallel with diplomatic efforts to bring regional conflicts to an end.