The crown prince appeared to smile in response to a shouted question about whether he would apologize to Khashoggi’s family. Criticizing the US president’s visit, Khadija Cengiz, Khashoggi’s fiancee, said: “It’s heartbreaking and disappointing. And Biden will lose his moral authority by putting oil and expediency above principles and values.” Mr Biden wants Saudi Arabia to pump more oil as it tries to lower prices in the United States in the wake of the war in Ukraine. It also wants to put pressure on Iran and counter the influence of Russia and China in the region. Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, said the US does not expect Saudi Arabia to boost oil production immediately and should wait for the next OPEC+ meeting on August 3. Saudi Arabia has announced a step towards normalizing relations with Israel, opening its airspace to “all air carriers” and ending severe restrictions on Israeli flights over its territory. Biden said this was “an important step toward building a more integrated and stable Middle East region.” At a news conference later Friday, Biden confirmed that he informed the crown prince of Jamal Khashoggi’s killing during a meeting between the two leaders and told him that he was personally responsible. “I put it at the top of the meeting, making it clear what I thought about it at the time and what I think about it now … I made my point crystal clear,” Biden said as he took questions from reporters. “He basically said he wasn’t personally responsible for it. I suggested that it probably was.’ Biden added that “if this happens again, they will get that response and more.”
