“I said, very bluntly, for an American president to be silent on a human rights issue is inconsistent with who we are and who I am,” Biden said. “I will always stand up for our values.” US intelligence agencies believe the crown prince likely approved the killing of Khashoggi, a US-based author, four years ago. His assassination came amid Biden’s efforts to restore relations with Saudi Arabia. US President Joe Biden and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman clashed upon Biden’s arrival at a royal palace in Jeddah on Friday. The US president later told reporters that he had raised the issue of Jamal Khashoggi’s assassination with the Saudi king. (Bandar Algaloud/Saudi Royal Court/Reuters) Biden said Prince Mohammed claimed he was “not personally responsible” for the death. “I showed what I thought it was,” the president replied. It was the first meeting between the two leaders, beginning with a fistfight outside the royal palace in Jeddah, in a relationship that could reshape Middle Eastern security partnerships and the flow of oil worldwide.
First steps
For now, they seemed to be taking incremental steps forward together. Biden announced that US peacekeeping forces would leave the Red Sea island of Tiran by the end of the year. Biden arrives at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Friday. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters) Saudi Arabia hopes to develop tourist attractions there as part of the kingdom’s effort to expand its economy beyond oil. Because of a complex diplomatic arrangement governing control of the strategically located island, America’s withdrawal required Israel’s consent, and the deal was the latest reflection of warmer Israeli-Saudi relations. The agreement followed an earlier announcement that the Saudis were ending strict limits on Israeli commercial flights over their territory. Biden also said progress was being made on extending a ceasefire in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia has been fighting Iran-backed militants, leading to a humanitarian crisis. The president’s three hours at the royal palace in Jeddah was seen as a diplomatic victory for the crown prince, who has sought to restore his image, draw investment to the kingdom for his reform plans and strengthen the kingdom’s security relationship with the US.
The newspaper hits a “shameful” punch
Biden appeared to approach the diplomatic reset as a necessary, if somewhat uncomfortable, step in improving relations with the world’s top oil exporter at a time of rising gas prices and concern over Iran’s nuclear ambitions. US President Joe Biden spoke to reporters on Friday after a working meeting with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. Biden said he mentioned in his meeting the killing of Jamal Khashoggi – although he said the Saudi king claimed he was not personally responsible for the journalist’s death. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images) The meeting sparked outrage from critics who believed Biden was abandoning his human rights commitments, particularly when it came to the killing of Khashoggi, a US-based journalist who wrote for the Washington Post. “The punch between President Biden and Mohammed bin Salman was worse than a handshake — it was a disgrace,” said a statement from Fred Ryan, the Post’s editor. “It showed a level of familiarity and comfort that offered MBS the unapologetic redemption he desperately sought.” The United States played down expectations for any immediate increases in Saudi oil production, which could help cushion high gas prices that are politically damaging to Biden at home. But the White House said it expected “further steps” in the coming weeks that would “help stabilize markets significantly.” The current OPEC+ deal expires in September, opening the door to potentially higher output after that.
Changing priorities
Rising gas prices, exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, are among the factors that have prompted Biden to reassess his approach to Saudi Arabia. The US president has long refused to speak to Prince Mohammed, the heir apparent to the throne currently held by his father, King Salman. But those concerns have since been overshadowed by other challenges, including Iranian aggression in the Middle East and a faltering effort to use diplomacy to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon. At the same time, Saudi Arabia wants to strengthen its security relationship with the United States and secure investment to transform its economy into one less dependent on oil extraction. A working meeting involving Biden and Prince Mohammed was held in Jeddah on Friday. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images) The Saudis gave Biden a low-key welcome at Jeddah airport, with none of the ceremony that accompanied his stop this week in Israel. The US president later spoke with King Salman, the 86-year-old monarch who has suffered from poor health, including two hospitalizations this year. Reporters were not allowed into the room, but the Saudis released video of Biden shaking hands with the king as the crown prince looked on. Biden and Prince Mohammed then had a broader meeting with several advisers. The two men sat across from each other, an arrangement that fostered the perception that they were counterparts. It’s an image the crown prince, known by his initials MBS, has been keen to create as he consolidates his path to the throne by sidelining, holding and seizing the assets of royal rivals and critics. There was considerable speculation about both the choreography and the substance of how Biden, who had vowed as a presidential candidate to treat Saudi Arabia as a “pariah” when it came to human rights, would interact with Prince Mohammed. On Saturday, Biden will attend a gathering of leaders from the Gulf Cooperation Council — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — before returning to Washington. The leaders of Egypt, Iraq and Jordan will attend. Biden’s national security adviser said the US president would make a “major statement” about his vision for the Middle East.
