President Joe Biden stays away from future encounters with controversial Saudi leader Mohammed bin Salman on Friday, and the reason for his trip to an oil-rich country is to meet the Crown Prince. Said he didn’t.
Biden is attending the Regional Summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Saudi Arabia in mid-July. The White House says he will meet not only his official leader, King Salman, but also his team, especially his de facto leader, Prince Mohammed (commonly known as MBS).
US intelligence has accused the MBS of the horrific 2018 killing of Saudi-born critic Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S. resident who contributed to the Washington Post.
Biden was asked by a reporter about how to deal with this issue when he met MBS, “just like I was dealing with. I’m not going to meet. I’m not going to meet MBS.” Said.
“I attended an international conference and he will be part of it, as was part of today’s discussion,” Biden said of the International Climate Summit on Friday. ..
Biden, who once said that Khashoggi’s killing made Saudi Arabia a “paria,” could force Saudi Arabia’s oil production to increase during his trip in hopes of curbing soaring fuel costs and inflation in the United States. It is expected.
White House spokesman Karine Jean-Pierre also organized a trip where the MBS conference is a side show rather than a focus.
“The president will meet a dozen leaders on this trip,” she said. She said, “I can expect the president to meet the crown prince.”
However, Saudi Arabia issued a more direct statement, simply pointing out that Biden would meet King Salman and then the successor to the throne.
