FAREWELL TOUR

Barack Obama visited Saudi Arabia, the UK and Germany in the course of a six-day tour. Media immediately labelled the visit a "farewell" one, although the incumbent US president has more than six months to go on his post. But the results [of Obama's term in office] can be summed up already. These are complicated relations with Riyadh and other Middle Eastern countries, concerns about the possible withdrawal of the UK from the EU, and the growing dissatisfaction of Europeans about terms and conditions contained in a free trade and investment partnership agreement between the United States and the European Union (TTIP). This time, Obama performed a somewhat unusual role for a US president - he was to persuade his counterparts in all of those countries, and, certainly, hear a lot of unpleasant things.

Middle East

Most Arab states are disappointed in Obama's policies mainly because of the fact that Iran, sanctions against which have been lifted following the nuclear deal, is strengthening its economic and political power. The Sunni monarchies fear a growing Shi'i influence in the region, and this manifests itself in an especially acute form in the region's hot spots - Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. Arab media carry harsh reports that say that the "Zionist-Iranian lobby" influences US policies.

The relations were impacted, and not in the very best way, by developments related to the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. A part of a 838-page report, namely 28 pages, which was compiled following those events, is still classified. This is something that George Bush insisted on. He said that the document contained information about sources of intelligence and methods used to gather it. Meanwhile, there was talk about a Saudi trace since the very beginning, since most of the hijackers had Saudi passports. But the main question is about to what extent officials from Saudi Arabia, i.e. from where the funding came, were involved in that crime. The American public, especially relatives of the victims, demand that the truth should not be concealed. Asked by CBS TV presenter Steve Kroft whether the Saudi government and major business people were involved in the terrorist attacks, Bob Graham, a former Democratic senator and a commission member, confirmed that this was the case. A bill on the possibility of prosecution for involvement in the 11 September attacks was put forward by Republican Senator John Cornyn from Texas and his colleague, a New York Democrat, Chuck Schumer. The BBC has reported that the document gets the backing of a mixed coalition - which is a remarkable unanimity in the election year. Donald Trump uses this issue in his attacks on the Democrats, but Senator Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have said that they would sign the document if they were elected president. The bill was approved by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary without objections in January. Some members of Congress, who are close to the Obama administration, oppose publication of the report.

The Saudis have threatened that in the event of the resolution being adopted by Congress, they would sell their US assets that are ostensibly worth 750bn dollars, and that this may destabilize financial markets and bring down quotes. Therefore, White House spokesman Josh Ernest urged Riyadh to maintain the stability of the global financial system. At the same time, some experts do not see any reason for concern, arguing that, first, these 750bn dollars only constitute 1 per cent of total financial assets (stocks and bonds) and, second, the Saudis are, of course, bluffing. Because of a serious budget deficit (14.8 per cent of GDP) caused by falling oil prices, they might sell part of their assets anyway, but not in the amount they are threatening. After all, Riyadh is no less interested in preserving these investments, because there is simply no alternative to them.

Nevertheless, the very possibility of this kind of a squabble between such close allies is causing alarm. On the one hand, the United States no longer needs Saudi oil as much as it needed it several decades ago at all and, on the other, the Saudis are very different from what they used to be in terms of their actions and ambitions. At the same time, they are still mutually dependent in arms sales. Riyadh, which aims to be a leader in the region, needs US weapons, while arms sales are important for the United States. The United States sold 30bn dollars worth of weapons to the Middle East last year. It sold 21bn dollars worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia.

World media have noticed signs of a cold reception given to Obama on Saudi soil - the king did not go to the airport to meet the US president, but sent the governor of Riyadh and the Saudi foreign minister to do it. Saudi TV channels by and large ignored the moment Obama arrived. As for Obama, he refused a solemn dinner under the pretext that he was busy. At the same time, Al Arabiya TV tried to save the situation with media coverage, noting that talks between the two leaders lasted for more than two hours and went in a very friendly atmosphere. The visiting Obama was actually remarkably quiet and did not particularly raise in Riyadh the favourite topic of all visits by US officials - human rights.

In addition to private talks - a meeting with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, UAE Deputy Supreme Commander Mohammed Al Nahyan - the US president and leaders of Persian Gulf states also communicated within the framework of the summit of the United States and the Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, and Saudi Arabia). Chief issues were military cooperation, especially regarding special forces and the navy - against a backdrop of the Iranian and ISIS factors. The United States urged the leaders of the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf to provide political and economic support to Iraq, help restore the Iraqi cities of Ramadi and Hit, that were won back from the militants, and also Anbar province. In addition, when visiting Europe, Obama officially announced the dispatch of additional 250 troops to Syria. Those are fighters from special forces from ground troops, medics, and information gathering and logistics specialists.

Europe, united for the time being

After Saudi Arabia, Barack Obama travelled to the UK to talk to Prime Minister David Cameron and personally congratulate Queen Elizabeth II on her 90th anniversary. Unlike the Saudi royal family, the British queen and her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, met Obama and his wife Michelle on the lawn in front of the Windsor Castle, although it was raining. However, there are several issues in the Washington-London relationship as well.

The White House is most of all concerned about the upcoming 23 June referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union, the so-called Brexit. Obama directly asked the British to have a think. The Americans believe that London's divorce from the EU will undermine the very idea of transatlantic community and deprive Washington of many levers of influence on Brussels and Berlin, which it currently has owing to London. Strobe Talbott, an American diplomat and political analyst, says that after the Second World War, Winston Churchill dreamt of the United States of Europe that would depend on US support and protection, and he believed that a "special relationship" between Britain and the United States was the most powerful link in the transatlantic chain.

"The European Union doesn't moderate British influence - it magnifies it. A strong Europe is not a threat to Britain's global leadership; it enhances Britain's global leadership," Obama told The Telegraph. Through a special relationship with London, Washington achieved a balance in its interactions with the EU, which could even be seen in defence spending.

Obama left the UK for Hanover, Germany, to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel and attend a G5 mini-summit, which was also attended by French President Francois Hollande, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. The US leader and the most influential European leaders discussed the situation in Ukraine, the migration crisis, the joint fight against ISIS in Syria and Iraq, and cooperation within the framework of NATO. The US president spoke about strengthening of the Eastern flank of NATO, primarily for defence against possible actions by Russia. The United States expects the UK and Germany to deploy additional troops and military hardware to Baltic countries, Poland and Romania. This theme is to be further developed at NATO's Warsaw summit in July.

Meanwhile, international trade was the main agenda of Obama's visit to Hanover. The US president is concerned - no less than he is concerned about "Brexit", but rather in conjunction with it - about the future of the free trade and investment partnership agreement between the USA and the European Union (TTIP). The agreement is to create the world's largest free trade zone that will cover around 800m consumers and reduce tariffs and eliminate regulatory barriers to business between the EU and the United States. It has already been labelled "economic NATO". However, dissatisfaction with TTIP is growing in France, and it is losing popularity in Germany and other EU countries. They believe that the agreement mainly benefits transnational companies and will have a negative impact on the labour rights of EU residents and weaken environmental protection control. Obama, however, is confident that countries involved in TTIP will receive huge advantages and, most importantly, become competitive, and he hopes that work on the document will be completed before the end of the year.

The near future will show whether Barack Obama managed to persuade his Middle Eastern and European counterparts of his point of view. But there can be no doubt that most of these problems will go to the next US president.