Comment President Biden, after a controversial weekend visit to Saudi Arabia, accused a senior government official there of not telling the truth about a conversation he had with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Biden said publicly that he confronted Mohammed, the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, known as MBS, about his role in the assassination of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul nearly four years ago. Biden said he indicated to Mohammed in a meeting that he held him personally responsible for Khashoggi’s murder. While Saudi officials confirmed that Biden raised the matter with the crown prince, the two sides’ accounts of the conversation have since differed. Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, said Saturday that he “did not hear” Biden tell Mohammed that. As Biden stepped off Air Force One in Washington after midnight Sunday, reporters asked him about Jubeir’s comment. A reporter asked: “Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister says he didn’t hear you blame the crown prince for Khashoggi’s murder. Is he telling the truth?’ Biden replied “No.” It was the latest controversy to emerge from Biden’s first visit as president to the kingdom, which Biden once vowed to make a “pariah” over Khashoggi’s killing and other human rights abuses. Critics back home argued that Biden’s trip was a PR victory for Saudi Arabia that did little for the United States. Biden was asked about the achievements of the visit to Saudi Arabia Biden traveled to Israel, the West Bank and Saudi Arabia last week on a four-day trip aimed at improving relations with Middle Eastern countries whose support the United States is seeking to address challenges such as skyrocketing oil prices, the war in Ukraine and competition with Russia and China. While in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for a meeting of the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council members and their allies, Biden met with the crown prince and fist bumped — producing photos that some in the United States have kept as evidence of the mischief between the two leaders, even though Biden made clear his discomfort with the idea of sitting down with Mohammed. Biden told reporters in Jeddah on Friday that he put Khashoggi’s killing “at the top of the meeting” with Mohammed. “I said very directly: For an American president to be silent on a human rights issue, is that consistent with — inconsistent with who we are and who I am? I will always stand up for our values,” Biden said of their exchange. When asked how the crown prince reacted, Biden said he “basically said he wasn’t personally responsible for it.” “I proved that I thought it was,” Biden added. US intelligence agencies concluded that Mohammed orchestrated the assassination of Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and outspoken critic of the Saudi regime. The Saudi leader denied any personal involvement and a Saudi court sentenced five people to death for the crime, although their sentences were later reduced to 20 years in prison. Biden says he confronted the Saudis directly about Khashoggi Two top Saudi officials, who briefed reporters after the meeting, described the exchange about Khashoggi as less confrontational than Biden had suggested, although they confirmed the president raised the issue with Mohammed. “He was honest. He was honest. It was open,” said Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador to the United States. “And what I found deeply refreshing is that the president said, ‘I just need to be clear and direct with you,’ and the crown prince said, ‘I welcome you to be clear and honest and direct, because that’s the way we move forward. . .” But on Saturday, Biden’s final day in Saudi Arabia, Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister, appeared to diverge from Biden’s version of events in an interview with Fox News’ Alex Hogan that another Fox News reporter , Zacky Heinrich, said it was arranged. by the government of Saudi Arabia. In one excerpt of the interview, Hogan asked Jubeir how Muhammad responded to Biden’s comment “that he holds him directly responsible” for Khashoggi’s murder. “I didn’t hear that particular phrase,” Jubeir replied. “The president said the US is committed to human rights,” the Saudi official continued. “I didn’t hear that particular phrase” – a senior Saudi official tells me about @POTUS telling the crown prince he is responsible for killing Jamal Khashoggi. More from our interview below… pic.twitter.com/uCfLSquiuE — Alex Hogan (@AlexHoganTV) July 17, 2022 And here is Biden, when he returned to the White House: President Biden, returning to WH, says Saudi Foreign Minister is not telling the truth Biden then reprimanded the reporter who asked about the MBS hit, telling the press to “talk about something that matters.” He went on to say he “hopes” inflation will come down and is “working” to free pot prisoners pic.twitter.com/xEUHDHu4MS — Steven Nelson (@stevennelson10) July 17, 2022 The US president on Friday sought to downplay the time he spent with Mohammed in Saudi Arabia. “I didn’t come here to meet with the crown prince,” Biden said from Jeddah. “I came here to meet with the GCC and nine nations to deal with the security and needs of the free world, and especially the United States, and not leave a vacuum here, as has been the case in other parts of the world.” In Washington on Sunday, Biden rebuked a reporter who asked if he regretted hitting Muhammad. “Why don’t you talk about something that matters?” Biden asked. “I’m happy to answer a question that matters.” In an op-ed for the Washington Post earlier this month, Biden explained his rationale for visiting Saudi Arabia. “Fundamental freedoms are always on the agenda when I travel abroad,” he said. “As president, it is my job to keep our country strong and safe,” Biden wrote. “We need to counter Russia’s aggression, put ourselves in the best possible position to overcome China and work for greater stability in a consequential region of the world. To do these things, we need to work directly with countries that can affect these outcomes. Saudi Arabia is one of them.”
