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US President Joe Biden claimed on Friday that he had reminded Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that he held him accountable for the death of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, just after exchanging a fist bump with the kingdom’s de facto ruler.
On a journey to re-establish relations with a country he had labelled a pariah following Khashoggi’s murder in 2018, Biden stated that the crown prince, known as MbS, denied involvement in the murder and said he had held those responsible accountable.
“With regard to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, I raised it at the start of the conversation, making it plain what I believed at the time and what I think now,” Biden told reporters.
“In our conversation, I was straightforward and direct. I made it quite obvious what I thought. I stated unequivocally that silence by an American president on a human rights matter is incongruous with who we are and who I am.”
The crown prince, according to US intelligence, authorised an operation to arrest or kill Khashoggi, a Saudi insider-turned-critic who was slain and dismembered by Saudi agents inside the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul. What happened to Khashoggi, according to Biden, was awful.
“Basically, he said he wasn’t directly accountable for it,” Biden said of the crown prince’s response during their meeting. “I said I thought he was.”
The president also stated that they talked energy and that he anticipated Saudi Arabia, a major oil producer, to take action on energy in the coming weeks.
As a presidential contender, Biden stated that the kingdom should be labelled a “pariah” on the international scene as a result of Khashoggi’s death. On Friday, he stated that he did not regret making the remark.
Officials had said at the start of Biden’s Middle East trip that he would avoid close contact, such as shaking hands, as a precaution against COVID-19. However, the president ended up shaking hands during the Israel section of his journey as well.
The Washington Post and the Committee to Protect Journalists both slammed Biden’s contact with the crown prince.
Khashoggi had been living in Virginia as a self-imposed exile. Hatice Cengiz, the late journalist’s fiancee, shared a photo of the fist bump on Twitter, saying Khashoggi would have written: “Is this the restitution you promised for my death? Your hands are stained with the blood of MBS’s next victims.”
Biden apologised to reporters in Jeddah.
At the start of the meeting, US media yelled questions about Khashoggi to the crown prince. “Will you apologise to his family?” someone inquired. MbS did not answer, but did appear to smile slightly as the reporters were escorted out of the room.
OPERATING PRESSURE ON OIL
Despite the president’s displeasure with the killing, Biden and his advisers decided not to isolate the Gulf oil giant, which has been forging connections with Russia and China. According to US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Biden wants to “recalibrate” Washington’s relations with Saudi Arabia rather than break them.
The Saudi ambassador to Washington, Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, who was part of the Saudi reception party, reaffirmed in an essay for Politico the kingdom’s “abhorrence” of the death, describing it as a terrible atrocity that cannot characterise US-Saudi relations.
On Saturday, a larger meeting of Arab leaders will convene in Jeddah.
Biden will address energy security with Gulf oil producers and hopes to see further action by OPEC+ to enhance output, but no bilateral announcements are expected, Sullivan told reporters en route to Jeddah.
According to Saudi State Minister for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir, no deal on oil has been reached, and Saudi and OPEC countries will make a decision based on the market, not “hysteria” or “politics.”
The next meeting of the OPEC+ group, which includes Russia, is scheduled for August 3.
The US and Saudi Arabia have reaffirmed their commitment to global energy market stability, according to a joint statement broadcast by the Saudi state news agency, SPA.
The United States is eager to see Saudi Arabia and its OPEC colleagues pump more oil to help bring down the high cost of gasoline and ease the biggest U.S. inflation in four decades.
Biden, who went to Jeddah after visiting Israel, also praised a pair of Saudi acts widely perceived as signals of a progressive rapprochement between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Riyadh agreed to allow additional Israeli overflights over its land, which Biden said he hoped would lead to greater restoration of relations.
He also announced a deal mediated by the US between Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia under which a small US-led international peacekeeping presence will depart Tiran, a crucial Red Sea island.
In 2017, Cairo handed up control to Riyadh. Because of the lack of Israeli-Saudi diplomatic relations, any change in the security structure there required Israeli consent, and lengthy and intricate discussions were required to finalise the accord.
Biden was the first American president to fly directly from Israel to Jeddah. Prior to the visit, Saudi Arabia announced that it would open its airspace to all airlines, allowing for more overflights to and from Israel, which Biden called as a “historic and crucial step toward forging a more integrated and stable Middle East.”
During Biden’s visit, the US and Saudi Arabia agreed on the need of preventing Iran from “acquiring a nuclear weapon,” according to a joint statement released by the Saudi state news agency (SPA).
According to the statement, Biden reiterated his country’s strong and ongoing commitment to assisting the oil-rich kingdom’s security and defence.
The two countries also emphasised the importance of preventing Iran from interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, sponsoring terrorism through associated armed groups, and undermining regional security and stability.
