“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. Biden also announced that US peacekeepers would leave the Red Sea island of Tiran by the end of the year, part of an agreement reached during what he called “a good series of meetings” in Jeddah. THIS IS AN UPDATE UPDATE. Previous AP story follows below. JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday held a carefully choreographed meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the man he once shunned for human rights abuses, as the two leaders sought to restore one of the most important in the world diplomatic relations. The meeting, which began with a punch as Biden stepped out of his presidential limousine, could reshape security partnerships in the Middle East and the flow of oil worldwide. Biden’s three-hour stay 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 Biden appeared to approach it as a necessary if somewhat uncomfortable step to improve relations with the world’s top oil exporter at a time of rising gas prices and concern over Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The meeting sparked outrage from critics who believed Biden was abandoning his human rights commitments, particularly when it came to the killing of Jamal 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.” Khashoggi was killed by Saudi Arabian government agents four years ago, and a US intelligence report said the crown prince likely approved the operation. 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. 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 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. The Saudis welcomed Biden to Jeddah airport without any of the ceremony that accompanied his previous stop this week in Israel. Biden greeted the ruler of Mecca, Prince Khalid bin Faisal, and Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US, Princess Reema bint Bandar, then walked a lavender carpet leading to the limousine that took him to the palace. The president sat down 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” for its human rights, would interact with Prince Mohammed. Access to journalists was limited. The traveling White House press corps was not present when Biden hit the crown prince, and reporters were only briefly allowed into their meeting. Almost none of their remarks were heard. Biden did not respond when reporters asked if he still considered Saudi Arabia an outcast, nor did Prince Mohammed respond to a pointed question about whether he would apologize to Khashoggi’s family. It is unclear whether Biden raised the issue of Khashoggi’s killing directly with Prince Mohammed and did not publicly commit to doing so before arriving in Saudi Arabia. “My views on Khashoggi were absolutely, positively clear. And I’ve never been quiet talking about human rights,” Biden said earlier this week. “My reason for going to Saudi Arabia, however, is much broader. It’s to advance U.S. interests — to advance U.S. interests in a way that I think we have an opportunity to reassert what I think we’ve been wrong to walk away from: our influence in the Middle East.” On Saturday, he 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 Middle Eastern neighbors Egypt, Iraq and Jordan will also attend, and Biden’s national security adviser said Biden will make a “major statement” about his vision for the Middle East. The visit to Saudi Arabia is one of the most delicate that Biden has faced on the international stage. Any success in appeasing relations could pay diplomatic dividends as the president seeks to ensure stability in the region. But it could also open Biden, already faltering in the polls at home, to deeper criticism that he is backing away from his pledges to put human rights at the center of foreign policy. “If we ever needed a visual reminder of the continued influence of oil-rich autocrats on US foreign policy in the Middle East, we got it today,” tweeted Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. “A fist is worth a thousand words.” Khashoggi’s fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, said that by visiting Saudi Arabia, Biden was backing down on human rights. “It’s a very big retreat actually,” Cengiz told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday. “It’s heartbreaking and disappointing. And Biden will lose his moral authority by putting oil and expediency above principles and values.” Saudi political analyst Turki al Hamad said he is not optimistic about the prospects for Biden’s trip. “Biden and his team will come and set their sights on the US election and improving the situation for the Democrats by getting a deal to increase oil production,” Hamad tweeted, saying it “doesn’t matter for the leadership of Saudi Arabia.” Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a former US State Department official, said Biden was looking forward to visiting Saudi Arabia “like I would look forward to a root canal operation”. Miller contrasts Biden with his predecessor, Donald Trump, who visited Saudi Arabia on his first trip abroad. That visit was marked by leaders gathering around a glowing orb and Trump briefly participating in a ceremonial sword dance. With Biden and Prince Mohammed, “there won’t be a lot of sword dancing or smiling photo ops or warm hugs,” Miller said.
Batrawy reported from Dubai, Knickmeyer from Sacramento, California and Megerian from Washington.
